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By James Freeman Clarke. 



THE LEGEND OF THOMAS DIDYMUS. 

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D 



1 ^ , 
THE LEGEND 



THOMAS DIDTMUS 



THE JEWISH SOEPTIO 



BY 



JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE 



AUTHOK OF *• TEN GREAT RELIGIONS," •* SELF-CULTURE," ETC. 



'"Ou TrptoTOV TO TT^evjuaTi/cbv, aAAa to y\iv\{.K6v ' enetTa to TTJ'ev/aaTi/coc." 

"That is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and 
afterward that which is spiritual." — 1 Cor. xv. 46 






BOSTON 
LEE AND SIIEPARD, PUBLISHERS 

NEW YORK 

CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM 

1881 



37-^0 i 



Copyright, 1881, 
By JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE. 






^^ 



TO 



THE CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES, 



BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 

MY FELLOW-STUDENTS, DUEING MANY YEARS, 

OF 

SCfje ILife of 3esu0, 

THIS BOOK 
IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCEIBED. 



PEEFAOE. 



The purpose of this book is to reproduce the times in 
which Jesus appeared, the characters who surrounded him, 
the opinions, beliefs, and prejudices of the Jewish sects and 
people. After this, Jesus himself comes before us, not as 
we now think of him, idealized by the reverence and wor- 
ship of centuries, but as he may have appeared to the peo- 
ple of his own day, — a prophet, one full of divine power, 
yet a man like themselves. I have tried to show how some 
were attracted, and some repelled, by his claims and his 
character. Especially I have endeavored to enter into his 
own purpose and expectation, his own view of the Messiah 
and his kingdom.^ 

This book comprises the results of many years' study of 
the life of Jesus, and may be considered a brief commen- 
tary on the four Gospels. 

The number of those who have written on the life of 
Jesus within a few years shows that the interest in this 

^ "I am persuaded that the Bible becomes ever more beautiful, the more it is 
understood ; that is, the more we consider that every word which we apply to our- 
selves has had at first a particular, peculiar, immediate reference to certain special 
circumstances." — Goethe, Atia Makariens Archiv. W. Meister. 

V 



VI PREFACE. 

great stor}^ is by no means exhausted. The variety of the 
interpretations indicates that the full secret of the phe- 
nomenon has not been discovered. The great range of 
opinions, which includes such writers as Strauss, Renan, 
Neander, Hase, Farrar, Geikie, Furness, and the Dutch 
critics, may allow room for another view of Jesus, which 
differs somewhat from them all. Most of these writers 
arrange themselves in two classes. One class stands on the 
church tradition and creed, and, assuming Jesus to have 
been mysteriously and absolutely divine, tries to harmonize 
his human life according to this assumption. The defect of 
this mode of treatment is, that it allows little critical free- 
dom, and presents a character devoid of reality. Doubtful 
points are avoided, or touched very carefully, from the 
constant restraint of what may be called this theological 
prepossession. 

. The other class, taking its stand on the simple humanity 
of Jesus, easily falls into the opposite, or anti- theological 
prepossession. Its tendency is to strip off all mystery, to 
explain away all that seems inexplicable, to deny at once 
the possibility of whatever appears supernatural. But these 
elements form such an integral part of the narrative, that 
they can only be removed by reducing the historical value 
of the four Gospels to its minimum. The figure of Jesus 
which emerges .from this treatment is often as unreal as 
the other, and has the additional disadvantage of being 
rather commonplace. When we read a critical nan-ative of 
the life of Jesus treated on this plan, we end by asking how 
it was, if he was no more than this, that he has ruled the 
religious thought of the most advanced races of men duiing 
so many centuries. 



PREFACE. VU 

The method adopted in the present work is different from 
either of these. I begin by taking the position of those 
around Jesus, who must have regarded him as a remarka- 
ble man, — inspired by God indeed, a great prophet, but 
yet, like all preceding prophets, purely and simply human. 
Whatever else Jesus was, he was certainly a man. Keep- 
ing this firmly in view, I have endeavored to see how far 
we are carried up by the legitimate influence of the narra- 
tive. Not seeking to accept, nor hastening to deny, what 
is unintelligible, I have left much, as I have found it, veiled 
in the obscurity of tradition. When so many things meet 
us in daily life which we can neither accept nor reject, but 
must allow to remain unexplained, how can we think it pos- 
sible to understand all that meets us in the story of a being 
so original and remarkable that his advent lias created a 
new heaven and a new earth? Some of the seemingly 
supernatural events have been here interpreted according 
to natural law ; but there remains a large amount of this 
element which I leave in the story as I find it. 

The clew which I have followed is that contained in the 
saying of the apostle, which I have taken as a motto : 
" Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that 
which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual." 
According to this plan, I have endeavored to place the 
reader and myself in the actual environment, looking at 
Jesus as he may have appeared to a liberal conservative 
like Nicodemus, a narrow zealot like Ben-Gamlah, a man 
of the world like Pilate, a Jewish Epicurean, a Jewish 
Stoic, a noble Roman matron like the wife of Pilate, a- 
sceptic like Thomas, and an ardent, enthusiastic Jewish 



VUl PREFACE. 

woman like Miriam. I have also sought to give a picture 
of the time, the geography of the country, the customs of 
the synagogue and temple, the teaching of Philo, and the 
determined proselytism of the Pharisees. I present no list 
of the authorities from which my facts are derived,^ but will 
merely say that the result of much study may be sometimes 
contained in the form given to a single sentence. 

One advantage of putting these studies into a narrative 
form is, that the imagination is assisted in reproducing the 
times of Jesus by identifying ourselves with a single per- 
son, and following him through his experiences. Of course 
I cannot expect that this presentation of Jesus will satisfy 
all my readers. Those whose opinions are already formed 
in regard to the questions in dispute will naturally be often 
dissatisfied with my conclusions. But if those, who, like 
Thomas in this story, are in perplexity concerning Jesus, 
find him becoming more real, and brought nearer to them, 
by the present narrative, I shall be amply content. 

Some will consider the portrait of Jesus in this work too 
purely human and natural, others as too sui>ernatural. But, 
as I have said, I am unable to read the story without the 
conviction that Jesus possessed some extraordinary power 
over nature and life. In what it consisted, we are not 
called to decide. It is evident that these deeds were not 

^ Two exceptions I will make, —one in regard to the works on the gospel, by 
Dr. Furness of Philadelphia, which constitute, in my judgment, as valuable a con- 
tribution to this study as the present century has produced. The other is a book 
not widely known as j'et, but containing some of the most original and profound 
investigations to be met with in any language, on the condition of the Jews and 
the Roman Empire at the coming of Christ. I refer to *• Judaism in Rome," by my 
■brother and friend, Professor Frederic Huidekoper of Meadville, Penn. 



PREFACE. IX 

done to confute or confound opponents, but are a simple and 
natural outcome from the spirit of the Master. 

If such a spiritual force was actually exercised, it would 
naturally cause other actions of a simpler order to be regard- 
ed as being also marvellous. Every new wonder creates 
immediately around it a penumbra of imaginary wonders ; 
and I suppose some of the acts of Jesus which the dis- 
ciples believed to be marvellous works, were not so. I have 
thus interpreted the feeding of the five thousand, the cursing 
of the fig-tree, the piece of money in the fish's mouth, etc. 
The last of these I have explained as a misunderstood pro- 
verbial expression of the fishermen of the lake. To show 
how easily a proverbial expression may be turned into a 
fact, I will add this incident. On the day when John 
Brown was executed in Virginia, and the whole North was 
filled with sadness, I heard two very ignorant men talking 
behind me in the railroad train. One asked the other, 
' ' What are they going to hang this Brown for ? ' ' The 
other answered, "I don't exactly know; but I heard tell 
that he set fire to a ^wwder- magazine in Virginia." Some 
one had probably said in his hearing that Brown's course 
among the slaves was like bringing fire into a powder- 
magazine. 

Some of the interpretations given here are, I think, new. 
The reason for driving out the money-changers, though 
it appears sufficiently obvious, I have not seen mentioned 
elsewhere. The simple way of reconciling John's paschal 
narrative with that of the synoptics, by the supposition of 
two suppers, and of a sHght misplacement of events by the 
amanuensis of John, I have not found in the commentaries. 



X PREFACE. 

The difficulties which surround the history of the resur- 
rection will probably be never wholly removed. In my nar- 
rative I have made much use of the results obtained b}^ the 
penetrating insight of Dr. Furness. The main fact, that 
Jesus after his death came again to his disciples in visible 
form, and created a faith in immortality which transformed 
their whole being, seems to me undeniable. Without some 
such event, Christianity would have been buried forever in 
the Master's grave. The resurrection of Christ was the 
resurrection of Christianity. With all respect for those who 
believe that the apostles imagined they saw their Master, 
and that this self-illusion was the foundation on which the 
religion was built which converted Europe to faith in a 
Jewish Messiah, the supposition appears to me historically 
incredible. The house which is to stand must be founded 
on the rock of realit}^ not on the sand of delusion. 

Since I first began this book, some years ago. several 
works of a somewhat similar kind have been printed. I 
have been obliged to denj^ myself the pleasure of reading 
these, — '' Philo-Christus," for instance, — because I did not 
wish my own conception to be confused by the influence of 
a work written perhaps from a different point of view. 

The reader will often find the results of modern scholar- 
ship embodied in the narrative, without reference to the 
sources from which they are -derived, or the reasons by 
which they are supported. Thus, in the first chapter, the 
celestial phenomenon commonly spoken of as ' ' tlie star in 
the east" is described as a conjunction of planets. This 
theory, first suggested by Kepler, indorsed by Dr. Ludwig 
Ideler, in his work on ''Mathematical and Technical Chro- 



PREFACE. XI 

nology , ' ' accepted by such orthodox commentators as Olshau- 
sen and Alford, seems the best explanation of the narration 
in Matthew. In "Smith's Dictionary of the Bible" it is 
stated by an astronomer that such a conjunction of Jupiter 
and Saturn occurred three times between May and Decem- 
ber B.C. 7. The astrologers of Persia, probably acquainted 
with the prophecies of Isaiah concerning a coming Jewish 
king, saw in these three planetary conjunctions a reason for 
believing his birth to be near at hand. The word translated 
' ' star ' ' in Matthew is used in Greek for celestial meteors 
of various kinds. 

It is sometimes urged as an argument against the authen- 
ticity of the Fourth Gospel, that it describes several visits 
made by Jesus to the feasts ; while the synoptic Gospels 
give only one. But the reason for this is not far to seek. 
John's Gospel was partly intended to supply what had been 
omitted by the other evangelists. They mentioned only 
the last Passover, because only on that occasion did Jesus 
appear in a public character (John vii. 4, 10). He worked 
few wonders in Jerusalem, and those seem to have been 
purposely done in a way to deprive them of their miracu- 
lous aspect. These early visits were therefore omitted by 
the synoptics, who related events rather than conversations, 
but were reported by John because of the peculiar nature 
of the discussions. This I have tried to make clear in the 
course of the narrative. 

In Miriam I have attempted to reproduce the character of 
those Jewish women who have been so conspicuous by their 
influence in the public life of Palestine and Rome. Such 
was Alexandra, who succeeded her husband Jaunaeus as 



Xll PREFACE. 

monarch of Judaea, a century before Christ, — a wise and 
energetic queen, during whose reign, says Josephus, the 
whole land was at rest. Such an one was that Herodias 
who wreaked her vengeance on John the Baptist, and whose 
influence on this very Herod Antipas was so great, that her 
ambition did the work which Miriam is represented as de- 
signing to do. She ruined him with Caligula, who deposed 
him, and banished him to Lyons. But in her case, too, the 
mixture of nobleness with wickedness appeared ; for, refusing 
to accept the pardon of Caligula, she followed her husband 
into exile. Such a woman, also, was the beautiful and un- 
happy Mariamne, wife of Herod the Great, — the only per- 
son before whose influence his iron will gave way ; and such 
another was Berenice, sister of King Agrippa, whose irre- 
sistible attractions at the court of Rome nearly compelled 
Titus to place a Jewish woman on the throne of the Roman 
Empire. 

It is a year and a half since this work was comjlieted. 
I have gone over it several times with care, but I cannot 
hope that some errors may not remain undetected. I trust 
they will not be important. The book has been prepared, 
not without a grave sense of responsibility, and with a sin- 
cere desire that it may help some open minds into a deeper 

faith in the common Master. 

J. F. C. 
Jamaica Plain, Mass. 
Feb. 16, 1881. 



CONTEI^TS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE. 

The Lake of Galilee, and the Synagogue 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Miriam op Migdol 20 

CHAPTER IH. 
I go to A School of the Scribes 35 

CHAPTER IV. 

I ENTER Religion, and seek to save my Soul .... 59 

CHAPTER V. 

I GO TO AlEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HiGHER JUDAISM . . 78 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Fall of Miriam. — I go to the Monasteries of the Es- 
SENES 100 

CHAPTER VII. 

I RETURN AGAIN TO MY OlD HoME 121 

CHAPTER VIII. 

I MEET Jesus of Nazirah ; and I listen to Him as He prophe- 
sies, AND teaches the PeOPLE 141 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Conversion of Miriam. —I become a Disciple of Jesus, 

AND One of the Twelve Missionaries 164 

xiii 



XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

PAGE. 

The Mighty Signs akd Wonders 177 

CHAPTER XI. 
Jesus in Galilee. — His Success. — Beginning of Opposition . 104 

CHAPTER XH. 
What Jesus taught concerning the Coming Kingdom . . 204 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Judas of Karioth and the Letters of Ben-Ga3ilah . . 234 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Letters between the Rabbi Ben-Gasilah at Tiberias and the 
Rabbi Ishmael at Jerusalem 247 

CHAPTER XV. 

Journal of Nicodemus, and Letter of Epinetus . . . 276 

CHAPTER XVI. 

On the Way to Jerusalem, leaving Galilee for. the Last 
Time 300 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Last Journey to Jerusalem, Narrative contintjed . . . 328 

CHAPTER XVIIL 
Last Conversations of Jesus with his Disciples . . . 365 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Letter from Bex-Tabbai, a Sadducee, at Jerusalem, to Sul- 
picius, AN Epicurean, at Rome. — The Dream of Pilate's 
Wife, written to Sabina Popp.ea, her Sister, in Rome . 393 

CHAPTER XX. 

Miriam of Migdol relates the Wonderful Events which 
followed the Crucifixion. — What Thomas also saw . . 423 



THE 

LEGEND OP THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 

I, Thomas, called the Twin, being an elder brother of the 
Assembly of God's children and of the Brotherhood in Jesus 
the Christ at Malabar, write this my memorial, for the help 
of those who may come after. 

I was born in Syria, and belonged to the tribes called 
Jews. We learned, when we were children, that our God, 
whose name must not be uttered, was greater than all gods. 
He made the earth, the sun and the stars ; and the gods 
worshipped by other nations worship our God. His home 
was in our sacred city, the joy of the earth, " beautiful for 
situation," on a mountain-top, looking down toward the east 
on the Sea of Death, and toward the west on the great water 
which divides Africa, Asia, and Em^ope from each other. 
Our country was small ; but it stood in the very centre of the 
world. It was given to our Father Abraham by his friend 
Yahveh, the God of our nation, and given again to Jacob, 
his grandson. Here our people had lived, and they thought 
themselves God's own people, — the loved of Him who made 
heaven and earth. Here lived and reigned our great King 
Daweid (David) , who conquered the surrounding kings, and 
made our tribes great and rich. Here reigned the mighty 
Solyma, who was so wise that he knew all things on the 

1 



2 THE LEGEXD OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY>rUS. 

earth, — trees, beasts, birds, — all things in the water, and all 
gems in the caves, and the virtues and powers of all. Our 
people had been slaves in Egj^pt, but were delivered by the 
prophet Moses ; they had been slaves in Persia, but were 
delivered by the prophets Daniel and Nehemiah ; and now 
they were slaves again under the Romans : but we expected 
the greatest prophet of all, and the last, to come, who would 
expel the Latin legions, and make the great and lovely city 
of Yahveh once more the delight of the world. For in our 
sacred books it was written that a righteous king should 
come, and subdue the whole earth by the rod of his mouth, 
and slay all wicked men by the mere breath proceeding from 
his lips. When he should come, our holy land, defiled by the 
armies of aliens, would become again pure and free. For 
this great prophet we prayed and waited. 

And, indeed, many things showed that the time was near 
at hand. 

Some years before, wdien I was a little child in my father's 
house in the province of Galilee, a great rumor went abroad, 
that angels had been heard singing in the skies, and declar- 
ing that some great good was coming to men. Also it was 
said that a wonderful star had been seen in the air, sending a 
ray of light into the very village where the prophet was then 
bom. And, indeed, the king, Herod, was terrified, and feared 
for his throne ; and it is said, though I know not the truth 
of the story, that he sent armed men to slay all the children 
in that village, thinking to kill the infant prophet. Foolish 
man ! to suppose that he could hinder the decree of the Most 
High from its fulfilment. What God determines, will come 
to pass, even by the very means men use to- prevent it. 

Moreover, an old man who passed through our village when 
I was a boy, with a staff in his hand, journeying to Lebanon, 
sat in our gateway, and received milk and bread. And, when 
his hunger and thirst were appeased, he told how he had 
been in Jerusalem at the time when the star appeared sud- 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 6 

denly in the sky, and that it seemed like three bright planets 
assembled in one place as if for consultation. And he said 
that he had also seen some Persian priests in white robes, 
and with mitres on their heads, priests of Ormazd, who had 
come from Edessa to Jerusalem, saying that the Scriptures 
of Zerdusht, whom the Greeks call Zoroaster, had also tes- 
tified that, a Saviour and Deliverer of man should be born 
in the west. And when the three stars were seen by them in 
the west, coming together to consult, they knew the time was 
at hand. So they had come by the way of Palmyra, or 
Tadmor in the Desert, to see that prophet who was also to be 
a king. And they said that while they travelled, and every 
night looked at the lights of heaven in the west, they saw 
the three stars go apart, and separate from each other. But 
when, in their journey, they had passed through Moab, and 
descended to the Jordan, and saw the dark mountains of 
Judaea rise before them, they beheld the three stars come 
together a second time, and remain standing side by side 
over our land. Then they knew that in this place the 
prophet was to come. But whether they found him, or did 
not find him, the old man knew not. 

After this, many years passed away, and the Deliverer 
came not ; so that the hearts of men were heavy with wait- 
ing. And the Roman soldiers were in camps, and in cities, 
and we were taxed to pay for their food and their wages. 
And they oppressed us, and carried away our wives and 
daughters into captivity, under pretence that we were rebel- 
lious ; and they cruelly beat and put to death our chief men, 
to inspire terror and produce submission. And yet no Deliv- 
erer appeared. And so the days went by. 

My home was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, 
which is the water of Genesareth. The plain where I lived 
was called, in my own tongue, "The Garden of Riches," so 
fertile was it, and full of lovely flowers and stately trees, 
and like a Paradise of plenty. The water of the lake was 



4 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

pure and fresh : it was full of fishes, and three hundred 
vessels sailed to and fro from the cities on the western 
shore to those on the eastern shore. So deep down lay our 
lake, that it was as if one should pour water into the bottom 
of his cap ; for the mountains rose high all around, and the 
sea nestled in their midst, sheltered from all cold winds by 
these high walls of stone. Perpetual spring reigned in this 
valley : the figs and grapes ripened during the whole year ; 
and the fruits and flowers and trees of all climates mingled 
peacefully together. The lofty palms, crowned with leaves 
which rustled and crackled in the wind, stood by the side of 
dark green walnuts, and the spectral olive-orchards. The 
Lord, who gave this land of Palestina to our people to dwell 
in, made it rich within with fertile valleys, great plains bear- 
ing corn and wine and oil, clear-flowing streams, beautiful 
forests of oaks and turpentine-trees, and palms towering 
aloft like sentinels to guard the people. But the Lord had 
also put mountains around it to protect our people from the 
tribes who roamed for prey all about us. So Palestina rose 
like a fortified island from the midst of the desert below, 
walled in by Hermon and Lebanon on the north, and the 
rocky peaks of Sinai on the south. Those mountains were 
our friends ; and all our land was a watch-tower, whence 
we could lift up our eyes, and overlook the plains below, 
reaching to the vast blue sea on the west, and across Jordan 
and its long valley to the mountains of Moab beyond. 

But I lived in my mother's house by the shore of the Lake 
of Waterfalls ; and to see these distant regions I must climb 
the hills. Many travellers, merchants of Babylon and 
Damascus, crossed our sea, journeying toward the coasts of 
Tyre and Sidon on the north, or to Egypt at the south. 
They pitched their tents by the side of the four great springs, 
from which the waters rushed in large streams toward the 
lake. And I, a boy, often walked through the plain when 
the sun of spring covered it with white and blue flowers, or 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 5 

the summer caused it to burn with the red fire of the lilies. 
I talked with the birds, who made the air all alive with their 
song, and with the clustering blossoms, which seemed almost 
as alive as they, and thought of the wonderful history of 
our people. I pondered whether in my time the Great 
Deliverer would come. 

From my early childhood, my mother fed my heart with 
the stories of our heroes and kings. She was one who was 
waitino; for the consolation of Israel, sure that the Lord 
had not forgotten his people, though he tarried long, and his 
voice had now been heard by no prophet for long years. As 
in the days of the boy Samuel, " the word of the Lord was 
precious, for there was no open vision." But my mother 
told me, that, in the history of our people, there came 
always the darkest and gloomiest hour before a new dawn. 
It was a dark hour for our people in Egypt when Moses was 
born, their Deliverer. We were now, indeed, slaves to the 
Romans ; but we were not ground into the earth, as our 
fathers were by the Egyptians. Caesar was not as cruel as 
Pharaoh. It was a dark time when our people were wander- 
ing through the wilderness for forty years, seeming about to 
become as rude and wild as the robber tribes around them. 
They drove their flocks and herds from one hillside to anoth- 
er, like the sons of Esau. They dwelt in tents, like the Ish- 
maelites. But so the Lord changed these weak slaves of 
the Egyptians into hardy soldiers ; and when they came to the 
shore of the Jordan, and saw the green hills of the land of 
promise glowing in the western sunset, they were strong 
enough and brave enough to enter into the land and take it. 

Then she talked to me concerning the wild times that fol- 
lowed the conquest, — when there was no king in Israel, and 
every man did what was right in his own eyes. There was 
no law nor fixed government, nor any settled place for the 
altar of God. Some worshipped at Shiloh, and some at 
Bethel, and many continued to offer sacrifices at the places 



b THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

where Baal had of old been worshipped, — at Baal-Hermon 
and Baal-Hazor and Baal-Judah. And then, when the 
calamities of the people were great, the Lord raised up men 
of might, and women of might, — Samson and Deborah, 
Gideon and Jephthah, — and under their strong hand, peace 
returned, and the tribes fought with each other no more, and 
had rest also from the Philistines of the plains. 

Moreover, my mother told me of the days that followed, 
when the Philistines rose up again against Israel, and 
brought great armies, with armor and shields and swords and 
lances, and drove our people before them, and took the ark 
of God ; and how, when the priest of God heard of this, he 
fell back and died. And they named the little child born to 
his daughter, Ichabod, because the glory was departed. 

And my mother told me that the glory departed from 
Israel, because the people had ceased to worship Yahveh, and 
worshipped the gods of the plain and the coast, — cruel 
Moloch, and licentious Ashtaroth, and all the Baals. They 
worshipped in the temples of the heathen, and in the groves 
of abomination, with shameful and horrid rites ; and the land 
was defiled with blood, and the ark taken away to the temple 
of the fish-God, Dagon. 

And then, in that darkness, the Lord raised up Samuel, 
a stern and awful prophet, who turned the hearts of the 
people to their own God and King, the God of the great and 
terrible name. And as soon as the people's hearts were right 
in his sight, their strength retm-ned, and they smote the Phi- 
listines hip and thigh, and pursued them with g^-eat slaughter, 
even unto the spot where Samuel put up the stone which he 
called Eben-ezer, or the Stone of Help, because the Lord had 
helped them even unto that place. 

And so my mother told me of the wanderings of our 
Father Abraham, king of men, from whom every Israelite is 
descended. For we all had our genealogies, kept sure by the 
sons of Levi in their sanctuaries. No other nation had this 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 7 

science as had the Jews ; for all our land belonged to fami- 
lies, and the scribes kept a record of the boundaries of every 
piece of land, so that, if it were sold, it should return to the 
same house at the end of fifty years. 

Among all nations, men are proud of being descended 
from great ancestors. At Rome, men were proud who 
belonged to the Cornelian or Fabian houses ; but, except 
with us, there was never known a nation all of whom were 
descended from the same ancestor. Every Jew in the whole 
world, whether he lived in Alexandreia, or Persia, or Rome, 
or Athens, could say, "I have Abraham, the friend of 
God, for my father." This made every Jew a brother to 
every other Jew, and gave to us all the same family pride. 
We were the patricians of the world. What were Roman 
knights or senators, or Macedonian kings, to our ancient 
race? They were plebeians, born yesterday. To-day they 
chanced to be more powerful than we, and were our rulers ; 
but to-morrow we should see them fall, as we had seen the 
fall of other vast monarchies which had also for a time 
been our rulers, — the Pharaohs of Egypt, oldest of empires, 
the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Phoenicians. Cyrus 
the Great, conqueror of Babylon, had been our protector and 
friend. Hiram, King of Tyre, was an ally of Solyma. 
What had become of Cambyses, whose armies overran 
Egypt ; of Sargon and Tiglath-Pileser ; of the ships of 
Sidon? These all were gone. The ruins of Nineveh and 
Babylon were overgrown with trees, and, as our prophets 
had foretold, desolation had come up into their palaces. 
Hades was moved from beneath to greet them at their com- 
ing. Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the 
Chaldees, had become as Sodom and Gomorrah. The city 
of Damascus, most ancient on the earth, was only a village, 
its pride and power departed. Tyre, formerly sitting on 
the sea like a queen, and sending her ships of merchandise 
to unknown regions, was only a heap of stones. All the 



8 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

burdens and woes uttered against these mighty monarchies 
by Isaiah and Ezekiel had been fulfilled. All were gone ; 
but we, the children of Abraham, remained, in whose seed 
all the families of the earth should be blessed. God had 
put into our hands the destinies of mankind ; and when 
Messiah came, all other peoples, nations, languages, should 
submit, and bow down, and adore before Yahveh, Lord of 
lords and King of kings. 

I went one morning to our house of gathering (or syna- 
gogue) to listen to j;he reading of the law and the prophets. 
Ours was an open town, large enough to furnish the Ten Men 
of Leisure, whose duty it was to be alwaj^s present, so that 
the worship might never wait for want of the necessary num- 
ber to make up a congregation. These Ten Men of Leisure 
sat on the Irigh seats on each side of the ark, and presided 
over the affairs of the congregation. The house was on the 
summit of a hill, overlooking the sea, whose bright blue 
waters sparkled in the sun, and lay dark in the shadow of the 
hills which rose steeply from its eastern shore. Far away, 
at the upper end of our sweet lake of Galilee, were misty 
mountains, with the snowy top of Hermon soaring above all 
into the heavens. The morning was calm, and the sabbath 
rest seemed to be shared by all living things. The lambs* 
bleat was not heard from the distant hills, on which the 
flocks showed like streaks of snow ; the birds were silent 
in their groves of olives ; and the lake, on other days alive 
with white sails, was now without a boat on its surface. 

Our house of gathering, built of large stones, and cedars 
from Lebanon, stood on a raised platform of volcanic rocks, 
and was entered through a porch of four cedar columns. 

Before entering the house, I turned to take another look at 
the lake. The mountains, which swept around it, seemed to 
hold it in their protecting arms, as a mother holds her child. 
As it lay in their embrace, so we, the multitudes who lived 
on its shores, lay in the hollow of God's hand. How happy 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 9 

our life in this delicious retreat ! — perpetual summer around, 
mountains and deserts, solemn sentinels, guarding us from 
the robber tribes which roamed to the east of us. As I 
stood above the fair scene, I looked along the level beach 
below, in some parts of snowy sand, and in others a speckled 
line of black and white stones. All round the lake ran this 
white beach, like a silver girdle around the waist of a queen. 
And our lake was a queen in her beauty and riches. To the 
south rose the white walls of Tiberias, where dwelt our cruel 
ruler, whom the Roman emperor had confirmed as our 
tetrarch according to the will of his father Herod. Herod 
the father had left Galilee to be governed by Antipas his son, 
born of a Samaritan woman. Thus we were ruled by a 
family of Arabs and Samaritans, who in their wicked hearts 
sought to put an end to the worship of our God, the Most 
High. They built temples to the Roman god Jupiter, and 
worshipped stone idols, carved by Greek artists, and made 
like men and women. Beyond Tiberias, men might see the 
faint mists rising from the hot springs of Hammath. I, 
taught to abhor all heathen worship, looked with horror at 
this evil city of Herod Antipas, which he had built on our 
shores, and where he lived the life of a beast rather than a 
man. A rapacious plunderer, he sent his tax-gatherers (who 
were called publicans, or Telonai) to torment us with per- 
petual demands. They were like wolves and bears devour- 
ing the land. They had no modesty, no fear. They watched 
by the lake to see what was brought over in the boats, that 
they might accuse us of bringing what was forbidden by the 
Roman laws. They made us pay taxes on what we bought 
and sold, taxes on the sheep which we pastured on the bare 
hills, taxes when we crossed a river, a tax on each man's 
head, a tax on the house we lived in, a tax on each door in 
our house. All this money was taken to Tiberias, and there 
was spent by Herod and his friends on their feasts, for I do 
not think that much of it ever went to the emperor at Rome. 



10 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYML'S. 

But this was not the worst evil this tetrarch did to us. Only 
a few weeks before the time of which I speak, I passed by a 
house near our town, and I heard a moaning sound, and 
went in. There, on the floor, lay the householder, with 
blood streaming from his face. TMien 1 had lifted him up, 
and bathed his face, he cried out, "Oh, woe, woe on this 
day ! May blackness and night settle on it forever. My 
child, my child 1 Why did I not die when my child was 
taken away ! ' ' And then I learned that soldiers from Tibe- 
rias, sent no doubt by wicked Herod, had seized his daughter, 
a girl of sixteen, and beautiful as sunrise, and carried her 
away to the city, for the tyrant's pleasure. 

Well may you think, my children, that we hated this devil- 
ish Antipas, this son of vSatan, and that we ncA'er put foot in 
his polluted city. It stood fair on the distant shore : but it 
was the home of all abominations. We hated Antipas, and 
we hated his tax-gatherers : for no one had taught us at that 
time that we could love our enemies, and that love was 
stronger than hatred. Bless the Lord, m}' children, who has 
taught you this word of peace, which takes out of the heart 
its poisonous rage, its bitter hatred, and fills it with the calm 
of the angels of God. 

AYhen I went into the house of gathering I found there 
the greater part of the community, and many strangers be- 
side ; for a renowned teacher had come among us, and was 
to speak that day. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and 
very learned in the law. I went in. passing first through 
the wide portico, which represented the Court of the Gentiles 
in the temple at Jerusalem, which all our sj-nagogues (as 
the Greeks called them) were made to resemble. Ascending 
some steps from this court, or walking-place, I entered the 
house. On the right hand was the place of the women, 
separated by a low partition from the place of the men. 
The light came from windows above, and the southern sun 
sent a ray through a single round window at the upper end, 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 11 

falling on the ark of cedar, which held the sacred Thora, or 
books of the law of Moses. As we entered, we bowed 
toward this ark, and therefore toward Jerusalem ; for every 
synagogue in the world was so placed, that the people within, 
all but the elders, should look toward Jerusalem. The ark 
stood on a raised platform, which was reached by seven 
steps, and divided by a low rail from the rest of the building. 
The space within this rail represented the Court of the 
Priests, and the ark itself was a type of the Holy of Holies. 
A rich veil of Tyrian scarlet hung before it, in imitation of 
the veil of the temple ; and in front of this the candlestick 
with eight branches, unlighted. One lamp alone burned by 
the ark, and never was suffered to go out, — a symbol of 
the light which always streams from the one living and true 
God. 

Sitting on each side of the ark, on the raised platform, 
were the Ten Men of Leisure, the elders of the congrega- 
tion, with the three rulers of the house of gathering, the 
president, and some Pharisees and priests from Jerusalem. 

The service went on as usual ; but it was evident, through 
all the early readings and the eighteen prayers of Ezra, that 
the heart of the congregation was greatly moved, expect- 
ing what was to come. Indeed, the Jewish nation, which 
seemed crushed to death under the iron heel of the Roman 
legions, retained its life and freedom in its synagogues. 
The Romans, a nation of great strength and boundless pride, 
but slow of perception, saw us going every seventh day to 
our houses of gathering ; and if they sometimes came and 
stood in the outer court, to which we ostentatiously invited 
them, they laughed with scorn at what they held to be an 
absurd superstition. They knew not that these synagogues 
were secret societies, organized in every part of the Roman 
Empire, with a discipline like that of their own legions. 
They perceived not that every adult Jew belonged to one of 
these congregations, and that his name was enrolled in its list 



12 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMLS. 

of members, bound to obey the orders of the ruler of his 
synagogue and its council of elders. They had no knowl- 
edge of the organization which bound them together, and 
made them all subject to the chief Council of the Seventy 
at Jerusalem. The Romans were proud of their courts of 
law, and then- judges, claiming jurisdiction in all the prov- 
inces. They knew not that every synagogue was a court, 
and that it called on the Roman law, only to enforce its 
own sentences. Though it had not the power to punish with 
death, it could do worse : it could excommunicate a mem- 
ber from its body, and so cut him off from his nation, making 
him an object of hatred to his household, and an alien 
from the commonwealth of Israel and the promises of God. 
They knew that each synagogue had its angel, or messen- 
ger, yet thought they not to ask what were the messages 
they carried from one to another ; for they said, " These are 
all mere matters of religion, and pertain only to worship." 
They were blind to the fact that there was in their midst this 
army, drilled and organized, and ready to act when the mes- 
sage should be sent forth from Jerusalem. The}^ saw a 
million of men collecting in our holy cit}" at the great fes- 
tivals ; and to them it seemed a mere act of worship, like 
the mysteries of Eleusis. They were ignorant, that, to every 
Jew, religion and patriotism were one and the same thing. 
They heard us speak of the Christ who was to come, and 
the kingdom of heaven, and believed that our Christ was 
to be only a religious teacher, and the kingdom of heaven 
some holy life beyond this. And when, in the synagogues, 
they heard the elders read the denunciations of the prophets 
against Tyre and Egypt, Nineveh and Babylon, they under- 
stood not, that, though our lips spake of Babylon and Nine- 
veh and Nebuchadnezzar, our hearts spake of Rome, and 
Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. Fools and blind ! Even then 
the storm gathered which might dash in pieces their proud 
empire, and make Jerusalem the capital of the earth ; and 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 13 

in their cold pride they thought themselves rulers of man- 
kind, and Rome the mistress of the world. 

And when we held converse, one with another, concerning 
the coming revolution, which was to overthrow at once 
the petty kingdom of Herod and the thirty legions of 
Rome, to place Judaea at the head of all the nations of the 
earth, and make one universal religion for all mankind, we 
called this catastrophe, the " Kingdom of Heaven," or the 
" Kingdom of God." For the same God of Israel, with the 
unmentionable name, who had brought our fathers out of 
Egypt, who had beaten back the Assyrians, who had re- 
deemed us from the power of Babylon, would soon and utterly 
destroy the Romans. When the mighty leader, the son of 
Daweid, should appear, then the harvest would be ripe, 
and he would thrust in his sickle. But the Romans, who 
heard us speak of the kingdom of heaven, thought we meant 
only some heaven hereafter, and knew nothing of these 
hopes, nor the bitter vengeance which we expected to take 
on their idolatrous nation. 

After the psalms had been chanted, the law read, the 
responses made, the eighteen prayers recited, the strange 
rabbi came forward on the platform. There was put into 
his hand the roll containing the Prophecy of Joel. In a voice 
deep, and trembling with emotion, he read of the plague of 
locusts : — 

" Hear this, ye old men ! 
Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land ! 
Hath such a thing happened in your days, 
Or in the days of your fathers? . . . 
That which one swarm of locusts left, hath a second swarm 

eaten ! 
And that which the second left, hath a third swarm eaten ! 
And that which the third left, hath a fourth swarm eaten ! " 

As he read these words, his voice trembled with strong 
feeling ; then he stopped, and looked round on the assembly. 



14 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

A suppressed murmur ran through the congregation, sound- 
ing like the far-off roar of the sea. ^Ve understood his 
meaning well. These locusts were the Romans, the soldiers 
of Herod, and the hateful Telonai, or tax-gatherers. We 
knew that some of these very officers of Herod were at this 
moment standing in the outer court, but not one of the con- 
gregation looked at them. 

Then the reader went on, and described the terrors of the 
coming time : — 

" The day of Yahveh cometh ; it is near ! 
A day of darkness and gloom — 
A day of clouds and of thick darkness. 
There cometh a people numerous and strong; 
Like them have been none of old, 
And after them there shall not be. 
A fire devoureth before them, 
And behind them a flame burneth. 
The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, 
And behind them a desolate wilderness. 
Yea, nothing escapeth them ! " , 

Another deep murmur went through the synagogue. Even 
so it was with our land, crushed under the leaden weight of 
the tyrants. All these lovely valleys, which God had given 
to our fathers to be the homes of happy families, were laid 
waste, and given as a prey to the spoiler. But the reader 
went on : — 

" Yet even now, saith Yahveh, 
Turn to me with all your heart; 
Rend your hearts, and not your garments, 
And turn to Yahveh, your God. 
For he is gracious and merciful, 
Slow to anger, and of great kindness. 
And repenteth him of the evil. 
. . . Then will Yahveh be zealous for this land, 
And will remove far from you the northern host, 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 15 

And drive it into a dry and desolate land, 
Its van toward the eastern sea, 
And its rear toward the western sea. 
. . . Then shall ye know that I am in the midst of Israel." 

The voice of the reader had been deep and stern. Sud- 
denly it changed, and became full of hope and expectation 
as he read again from the roll : — 

" And it shall come to pass, afterward, says Yahveh, 
That I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, 
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 
Your old men shall dream dreams, 
Your young men shall see visions. 
Even on your slaves, men and women. 
Will I pour out my spirit in those days." 

Once more the voice changed, and became full of exulta- 
tion and power, ringing like a trumpet through the room : — 

" The day of the Lord cometh, 
The great and terrible day. 
. . . Then shall I assemble all the nations. 
And bring them into the valley of Jehoshaphat, 
And there fight the battle of my people Israel, 
Because you divided my land among yourselves, 
And sold a Jewish maiden for wine, 
And sold to the Grecians the sons of Judah and daughters of 

Jerusalem. 
On your own heads will I return the injury : 
I will cause my people to sell your sons and your daughters." 

At this moment a young Roman centurion, standing in 
the court, beckoned to me. I went out to him ; and he asked, 
Tvath some excitement, ' ' What meaneth this ? " — " An old 
prophecy about locusts," I replied. "Why, then, are the 
people so stirred up? " he asked. " He is reading," said I, 
"of the wrongs done to our nation, ages ago, by the Philis- 
tines and the people of Tyre." Then he was content. He 
turned away, and I went back to my place. 



16 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

But, as I sat down, I saw a face among the women that 
smote me like a sunbeam, — the face of a young maiden of 
singular beauty. Yet she resembled not a daughter of Israel ; 
for her hair was not dark as theirs, but shone and sparkled 
like red gold, and, being very long, hung over her shoulders 
like a veil. Her beauty was unlilie the beauty of ordinary 
women ; for, while her face had the forms and the color 
of early youth, her brow and her deep-shaded eyes were full 
of thought, and of a serious and determined purpose. Those 
who stood near were drawn to gaze upon her wonderful 
beauty, as iron is drawn by the loadstone. But to me there 
was something in her face far more than beauty ; for it 
was lighted with a light from within that came and went, and 
thus seemed to shine with a radiance of its own. There 
were man}" thoughts and feelings contending in her face, and 
some might be clearly seen, and others were more vaguely 
and slightly expressed. Yet she knew not that any looked 
upon her ; for her own eyes were fixed upon the reader, full 
of intense longiog, devouring his words. From that mo- 
ment, I seemed, somehow, to be drawn to her. Yet it was 
not any common love of man for woman which I felt for her. 
Afterward, when I could look quietly into my heart, I saw 
in it a worship and adoration for this great soul, — a worship 
content to stand afar off, and look up, asking no return. 
But at that moment I knew nothing : I only had this new 
and strange feeling in my mind. 

Absorbed by this strange impression, I ceased to hear the 
words of the reader. How much time passed I knew not. 
I sat as in a trance, with a vision before me which I saw 
and felt, but about which I did not think. At once I started, 
roused by some light which flashed from the young girl's 
eyes. I became aware again of the voice of the reader, 
who had laid aside the roll of the ])rophet, and was speaking 
with great boldness, in words hardly veiled, of the condition 
of Israel to-day. 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 17 

" To-day," said he, " is this prophecy fulfilled, and he that 
runs may read it. Are not the locusts devouring the land 
now, swarm following swarm, ruler succeeding ruler? What 
one leaves, another eats : the wine, and oil, and grain are 
taken from the mouths of your children to fatten the wolves 
and foxes, — the wolves who rend, and the foxes who flatter 
the wolves. On my way here, I passed through the valley of 
Kishon and the plain of Jezrael, and saw houses standing 
empty, fields unsown, or left with the grain choked with 
weeds, the people having deserted their homes. Where are 
they? Hiding in the clefts of these mountains, the men 
turned robbers, and prowling around your houses by night to 
carry away 3^0 ur sheep, or plunder your vineyards. The land 
mourneth, because of the oppression of my people." 

A stern murmur ran through the synagogue, and the eyes 
of the young girl were lighted for a moment with angry fire. 
The speaker went on, — 

" But the day of Yahveh cometh, — the great and terrible 
day. All things declare that it is at hand. Does not the 
prophet say that the sun shall be darkened, and the moon 
not give her light, and the stars cease to shine, before the 
coming of the day? Some of you can remember when 
the first of these signs happened. It was at noon, and the 
summer sun was shining brightly. As I passed to my own 
synagogue, which is by the mountains of Bethel, I saw the 
people looking up at the sky. I also looked up, and, lo ! a 
piece was eaten out of the sun. I came to the people, and we 
stood in fear, wondering what this should be. As the hour 
passed on, the piece grew larger, till at last the sun became 
as small as the moon when it is new. Then it grew still 
smaller, and we saw only a narrow rim of light, though 
burning bright. But the skies grew gray, and the grass was 
gray also, as if with fear. Finally, when the sun had been 
consumed, all but a small thread of light, it broke to pieces 
into a number of stars, and then all of these disappeared 



18 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

but one. FiDally that too went ont, and the sun was extin- 
guished wholly ; but in its place we saw suddenly appear 
in the heavens a round black sun, surrounded by waves of 
white light, brilliant as snow. The people screamed with 
terror ; but I cried out. ' Be not afraid ! this is a sign of the 
coming of the great King I ' And surely, in a few minutes 
the sun began to re- appear, and then the people knew that 
it was God's sign placed in the heavens, to tell us to be pre- 
pared for the coming of the AVonderful One and the Coun- 
sellor. 

"Another night I walked among these hills, and went up 
to a lonely peak above the lake. And I prayed the Lord to 
show me a sign. And suddenly I saw a star fall from the 
sky, leaving a long trail of fire behind it in the air. It was 
so bright, that it lighted up the whole region, and I saw all 
the streams, and woods, and valleys below. And the lake 
leaped out of the darkness, like a mighty mirror, such as the 
Tyrian merchants make of polished metal. For one moment, 
in that dazzling flash, I saw every nook and bay along its 
shore, and the opposite mountains, and the white walls of 
Tiberias. Then the star split in pieces, turned red, and dis- 
appeared ; and presently there came an awful roar, like 
thunder ; and darkness fell, blacker than before, over the 
whole land. That was a second sign. The star seemed to 
be above Jerusalem. And so was fulfilled the saying of the 
prophet, 'The Lord roared from Zion, and uttered his voice 
from Jerusalem.' 

" So I say the time is at hand, of which the prophet says, 
'Beat your ploughshares into swords, and yom- pruning- 
hooks into spears.' For we must march with our King to 
conquer all who oppose him. TTheu the Christ comes. Anti- 
christ will also come ; and the great hosts will meet together 
to decide the fate of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat. 
For what saith the prophet? — 



J 



THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 19 

" ' Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of Decision ! 

For the day of Yahveh has come in the valley of Decision, — 
the valley of Jehoshaphat.' 

"Perhaps you may say, 'How can we, a people small 
and scattered, contend with the nations of the earth ? ' But, 
if Yahveh is on our side, one shall chase a thousand. And, 
beside this, you know well that we have friends in every 
nation, — among the Greeks, and among the Romans. Thou- 
sands of proselytes are in every country under heaven, 
ready to take our side, and fight for the one living and true 
God. Though we are oppressed here, and cruelly treated by 
foreigners, yet C?esar has always been our friend. Though 
some Romans hate us, yet Rome itself will help us. As 
soon as our mighty leader comes, men will flow to him from 
all lands, for the last great battle with the hosts of darkness. 

"And, after this last war, there will be no more war on 
the earth. Then the heavens shall rain down righteous- 
ness, the mountains drop with wine, and the hills flow with 
milk. Then shall Yahveh dwell in Zion, and all nations 
come to worship in his house. The smoke of its incense, 
flowing out of it, shall fill the earth. Peace shall reign, and 
plenty, as long as the sun and moon endure. All shall know 
God, from the least to the greatest. All shall gladly obey 
his law, for it shall be written in their minds, — not on tab- 
lets of stone, as Moses wrote it, but on the fleshly tables of 
the heart. No more sorrow, no more sin, no more death, in 
the world. The time is near." 

The voice of the reader ceased, and a solemn silence 
came. Only the sobs and tears of the people, sobs and tears 
of joy and triumph, broke the stillness of the place. When 
I looked up, the young girl with the wonderful face was 
gone. I tried to follow her ; but, when I reached the door, 
I saw her nowhere, and searched for her in vain. 



20 THE LEGEND OF THO-^IAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER II. 

MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 

Day after da}' I walked by the lake, whose deep violet 
waters sparkled in the sun. The blue sky hung over us, 
with clouds white as doves, drifting toward the western sea, 
their shadows creeping over the surface of Genesareth. 
Snowy Hermon stood as a giant sentinel on the north, its 
central summit a gleam of white where the snow covered 
its peaks, but lifting up on either side two vast arms, as if to 
protect the laud it loved. It was my constant expectation 
that I should see again this strange girl, and that she was to 
be the star of my life. And truly it came to pass, but in 
another sense than I thought. 

One morning I climbed the steep hills above our valley. I 
passed through fields heavy with wheat, among which the 
golden amaryllis shone with its great yellow flowers. The 
tall palms rattled their long leaves together above my head, 
swaying to and fro in the soft air. Balsam-trees, carefully 
tended on account of their fragrant and healing gums, sent 
a pleasant odor around. On the sides of the rocks above me 
clung the old olive-trees, with strange uncouth forms, as 
though they were great drunken apes, staggering along, and 
reaching out their long arms to catch hold of some support. 
The farms below were hedged in with wild myrtles, and within 
them were orchards of figs and almonds. Before the door 
stood citron-trees, ripening their delicious fruit, and shading 
the children who played beneath. Climbing higher, the lake 
spread below me. the cloud-shadows running over its surface, 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 21 

and the white sails of fishing-hoats bending before the fresh- 
ening wind. At last I reached an open level spot w^here 
stood an old sycamore ; from which was a fair view over 
the lake to the great hills of Bashan, which rose in a black 
wall, on the opposite side. To this place I loved to go, and 
here I often spent hours dreaming of the day when Messiah 
should come and restore all things. But as I now approached 
it, I was surprised by hearing a voice chanting in tones of 
murmuring melody a song, the words of which ran thus : — 

" Night is over the land, black as the darkness of Egypt. 
No light from prophet or seer, no word, no sign of his coming: 
No dawn reddens the east: we sit in the shadows of evil. 

" Silence is over the land, hushed are the terrible voices 
Of Samuel, David, Elijah; words which rolled like the thunder; 
Words which struck like a sword ; words which fought like an 
army. 

" Death is over the land. Priests stood dead at the altar; 
Scribes speak with dead lips ; this is the valley of vision. 
Speak, O Lord, to these bones ! — forth from our sepulchres 
call us ! " 

I listened to this voice, pure as a flute, rich and full as a 
trumpet, — a voice whose tones were a long wail of sadness, 
so profound that my heart almost broke in hearing it. When 
it ceased, I seemed drawn forward, and moved without my 
will toward the place whence the sound had come ; and there, 
sitting below the sycamore, I saw the figure of a woman. 

She sat on the grass, in the shadow of the tree, her head 
bent down, as if in deep thought; but a sunbeam lay upon 
the shining waves of her long hair, and by this I recognized 
the maiden of the synagogue. Suddenly raising her eyes, 
she looked at me, without surprise or alarm, and said with a 
thoughtful smile, — 

" Thomas, is it thou? Come nearer : I have something to 
say unto thee." 



^2 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

As my face, no doubt, expressed astonishment, she went 
on, — 

' ' Thou dost wonder because I know thy name ; but I have 
often heard of thee, and I saw thee in the s^^nagogue lately. 
Shall not the daughter of Israel, who waits for the consola- 
tion which is to come, know all the youth of the land who 
may help on the day ? ' ' 

I stammered forth, "But I am no one: I am yet a boy. 
What can I do ? " 

She looked at me steadily ; and her clear, luminous eyes 
seemed to read mj^ soul, as she said, — 

"No one knows what he can do until the hour comes. 
Did the boy David think, when he watched his sheep on the 
hills, that he should slay the heathen giant, and become the 
mighty King of Israel? But I have an eye which is able 
to see many things in the soul ; and I see in thine heart two 
forces which may be used for great things." 

"And what are they?" I said, deepW interested, as men 
are, when others find any thing in their natures worthy of 
being searched into. 

She answered simply, " Sincerity and fidelity. Thou art 
true down to the roots of thy being. Thou canst not de- 
ceive, not even thyself. The Lord has made thee to seek 
truth with extraordinary courage. Nothing will ever satisfy 
thee but to see the truth with thine own eyes. Most men 
repeat w^hat others say, and others repeat again what they 
hear repeated. All the scribes do so ; " and a slight curl of 
the lip, and a disdainful flash of the eye, spoke of a proud 
contempt in the maiden's soul. 

"But what is more, Thomas, thou art capable of being 
faithful to a leader or a cause. In a world full of traitors 
that is much. I think not thou couldst be bribed, or in any 
way tempted to betray thy friends." 

"No," said I, looking boldly up. "What thou sayst 
about my love for truth, may be so — I cannot tell. But I 
am not a traitor : of that I am sure." 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 23 

" O Thomas ! " said this strange girl, " never be too sure of 
any thing. By earth and heaven, I think so of myself. But 
when I feel these passions in my soul, these rivers of fire 
which run through my veins ; when I feel how I am some- 
times ready to hate all men for their meanness, — I can hard- 
ly trust myself. But," and the deep eyes turned again 
to me, "I think I can trust in thee, Thomas, — a little. 
Thou dost not know me, not even my name. I am called 
Miriam, and live at Migdol. My father serves Herod An- 
tipas, and spends much time at Tiberias, at the king's court. 
But I, who hate the heathen, never go near them. All my 
thoughts are for my nation ; and I seek to know every one 
who can be made a helper in its cause. So, Thomas, I have 
heard of thee ; and now I see thee, and I believe in thee." 

Then I, full of joy: "And I also, O Miriam! believe in 
thee ; and thy words rouse the soul in my bosom. Be my 
leader and teacher, and let me learn of thee what I can do 
for our nation." 

A darkness came over her face, as when the shadow of a 
cloud passes over the lake. She sat for a moment in silence ; 
then, without looking up, she held out her hand and took 
mine, and repeated, as though speaking to herself, "He 
has no sister : I will be his sister. I have no brother : he 
shall be my brother. Who knows what good to our nation 
may come of this, or to what it may lead ? ' ' 

She looked over the lake toward the dark mountain-wall 
beyond, and said, " As that gloomy wall can hardly be scaled 
by men, so hard is it to climb up to see the ways of the 
Lord. But look at Hermon, on our left, and see how that 
great mountain overlooks Moab and the lake, and sees Car- 
mel and the Mediterranean Sea. So the Lord overlooks 
every thing. He sees us here, Thomas. Is it not strange? 
Till this morning we have never met, never spoken to each 
other ; and now we are as old friends. I seem to read thy 
soul, and know thee as I know myself." 



24 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

"And I, Miriam, know thee. Yet I cannot tell what I 
know ; but I seem to know it, — not the largest part of thy 
nature, but the essential part of it. As he who finds a nut 
cannot tell how large a tree shall come from it, nor how its 
limbs shall be formed, but he knows it will be a nut-tree, 
so I appear to know thee." 

" And what dost thou find in me, Thomas? I have told 
thee what I have found in thee." 

"Be not offended, Miriam. I may be deceived. I may 
not be just to thee. I am ignorant of men. I would rather 
not speak." 

"Speak, speak ! " she said, looking straight into my eyes. 
And I spoke as one who is constrained, and who searches 
into his own thought. From her eyes there came a strong 
influence, and it compelled me to look at the thoughts slowly 
shaping themselves in my mind. 

So I answered, with difficulty, and only a little by little, as 
the thoughts and words came to me, and as if speaking to 
myself: "She is a w^oman who has many struggles with 
herself. . . . She is not simple, but one in whom many 
forces contend for mastery. . . . Above all is a burning love 
for what is highest, purest, best. But mists rise from below, 
and cloud that love. She seems one moment like Hermon, 
all pure and white, and untouched by any thing but heaven's 
air and heaven's sun ; then, all at ouce, black mists steam 
up from below, and wrap themselves around her. Ah, how 
dark it is ! . . . No — there is a golden ray of light rest- 
ing on the mountain's very crown. . . . Ah, but what a 
terrible strength of will ! AVhat she wills, she wills like a 
giant. . . . And how she stands like a queen, too proud to 
stoop to mortal man or woman, almost too proud to bend 
before God. How hard she seems now, how cold ! Noth- 
ing can move her. . . . But now there is another change. 
What tenderness there is in her ! How she can pour out her 
heart in gratitude to one who does her any noble good ! How 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 25 

she can love and worship generosity and goodness ! yet what 
passions there are in her heart ! It seems as if all this lake 
below us were changed into a sea of fire. O Miriam ! there 
is so much that is grand, and yet so much that is terrible, in 
thee. Thou mayst be so good, that angels will love thee ; or 
thou mayst do what will make Satan glad." 

I stopped suddenly ; for she rose, and turned away. I was 
terrified at my own words. It did not appear to me that I 
had spoken out of my own mind, but as though I were the in- 
strument through which another mind had spoken. I feared 
to look at her, thinking I must have displeased her much. 
But when at last I raised my eyes, I saw hers looking upward, 
so full of supplication, of longing, of pathetic sadness, so 
very different from what I feared, that my heart melted 
within me from pity. 

"Thou hast spoken truth," said the girl, again turning 
toward me. " No one ever spoke thus to me before. I am 
all thou hast said : I am indeed more than that. There is 
much in me that neither thou nor any one else hath seen. 
But pride, passion, reverence — these are the deepest forces 
of my soul ! My God ! will they ever be made at peace ? ' ' 

Thus speaking, she arose. I, also, stood up. We looked 
down on the broad sheet of water below. On the south-west 
vast masses of clouds were rising, yellow and purple, torn 
with wind, and rolling upward into majestic shapes. Far to 
the north, above Mount Hermon, all was peaceful. The 
great summit rose, unstained by a cloud, white with enormous 
fields of snow, and penetrating the pure blue sky as with 
the point of a Roman sword. The lake below us began to 
swell and be agitated with the approaching storm. 

"Come! " said Miriam: "we must hasten." So, down- 
ward through the myrtles and pomegranates, downward along 
the narrow footpath, we proceeded, while the sky became 
more overspread with the lurid clouds. 

After this I saw her often, indeed almost every day. 



26 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Never before had I known a mind of such activity, such 
penetrating force, such clearness. I had listened to the 
learned rabbis ; but how empt}^ their minds seemed compared 
to that of this 3'oung girl ! While talking with her, I forgot 
her beaut3^ entranced by her words, which lighted up the 
world with a new kind of sunshine. She spoke of men and 
women, and a veil fell from between me and them : I saw 
the hidden, mysterious powers which moved each from within, 
and made each one himself. Slie spoke to me of myself, 
and I grew of value in my own eyes : I felt capable of great 
things, and read}^ to labor patiently, to study industriously, 
so that at last I might fulfil the expectations of my noble 
friend. I reverenced her with all the force of my nature, 
and would have died for her sake. And 3'et something within 
me protested against her words of passion and pride. She 
seemed sometimes rapt, like an angel, into one of the heavens 
which our rabbis told us were above the earth ; and again a 
demon from beneath poured into her soul the fires of hatred, 
scorn, contempt against the priests, or the Romans, or 
the Jews who flattered Herod, and held offices from him. 
AVas she a prophetess, inspired by God, or one possessed by 
a cruel demon ? 

AVhenever I left her, and asked myself what mj^ feeling 
was toward her, it did not seem to me like the love of man 
for woman, but rather like an enchantment which a magician 
lays on the soul. I was no longer in my own power : I must 
think as she thought, feel as she felt, do as she did. And, 
indeed, her outbursts of pride and rage were few ; for usually 
she was calm and friendly, and her noble thoughts raised me 
above myself. While I spoke with her, life was worth living, 
the day not long enough in which to listen to her inspiring 
words. Sometimes, as we talked together amid the shades 
of evening, a light came from her eyes, so that I saw them 
when I could not see the rest of her face. My conscience 
and reason protested sometimes against the chain which 
bound me, but in vain. 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 27 

Miriam often spoke bitterly against her position and her 
sex. ' ' Why am I a woman ? ' ' said she, ' ' and why am I com- 
pelled to live in this mean place ? My father and my brothers 
go where they please ; but I am a girl, I must stay in the 
house, or go to the synagogue only. It is true that my 
father has taught me to read Greek, and I have had my brain 
fed by the writings of Homer, and the poets of Hellas. 
Were I a man, I could cross the JEgean Sea, and go to Athens 
and talk with the philosophers ; I could go to Egypt, and 
talk with my countrymen there, and learn the mysterious wis- 
dom of that wisest of all lands ; I could go to Rome, and 
find the secret of the power of that mighty nation. I feel 
within me a force which would perhaps shatter the fetters 
which bind my people. But I am only a woman, — less than 
the meanest man who' walks the streets of Tiberias." 

"Say not so, Miriam," cried I, touched with a mighty 
pity. ' ' If thou art held by the customs of our nation in a 
narrow place, thy thoughts have gone out to the ends of the 
world. They have reached farther than the isles of the sea, 
and dug as deep as where men mine for gold ; they have 
ascended as high as where God sits on his throne. Some- 
times thou speakest like the mightiest of prophets, and some- 
times in sweet words like the songs of David. Are not such 
a world of thoughts a mighty kingdom ? Why ask more ? ' ' 

"Say, rather, a mighty chaos without form, and void," 
said she. "Is the man lost in a forest its king, because 
no one else is there but himself? My thoughts are like a 
great forest, or the labyrinth they speak of in Egypt. They 
have brought me to iron gateways which I cannot pass. O 
Thomas! what is life for, if it be so full of misery? Why 
does God let the good be crushed by the Evil One ? Where 
is the God, the Yahveh, whom we worship? If he is good, 
he is not all-powerful, else he would put an end to human 
sin and woe. If he is all-powerful, he is not good ; and why, 
then, should we obey him, unless from fear?" 



28 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I shuddered to hear her speak thus, for such questions 
had never entered my mind. Alas ! I became too familiar 
with them afterward. As I hesitated to reply, she said, — 

" But we will not speak of these things ; and indeed I did 
not mean to sa}^ such words to thee, since they give thee 
only pain, and do me no good. Yet a stream too long 
dammed up will sometimes overflow, or break through its 
banks. And so the hidden stream of my thoughts has broken 
over its banks to-day. Forget it, Thomas, and let us talk 
of other things." 

And then she began to tell me of what she had read in the 
books of the Greeks, which her father had borrowed for her 
from the king's library in Tiberias. And the day flew by 
on happy wings, while she told me of the battles of Achilles 
and Hector around Troy, and the wanderings of Odysseus, 
of the one-eyed Cyclops, and the Island of Circe, of Aga- 
memnon and his cruel fate when he went back to Argos, and 
the grand stories of the tragic poets ^-Eschj'lus and Sopho- 
cles. She also told me about the wise Socrates and his dis- 
ciples ; and as she spoke I saw the splendid city of Athens, 
with its white temples, and the philosophers walking in the 
gardens, and sitting in the groves, conversing on great themes. 
And she related to me the history of how the Greeks had 
resisted and conquered the armies of the Great King. Then 
I saw the plain of Marathon and the pass of Thermopylae 
before me, and the heroes struggling together in the tumult 
and dust of the conflict. Sometimes she would bring the 
rolls and read them aloud, as we sat in our favorite place 
among the old olives, with the dear lake below, sparkling in 
the sun, or sleeping in the shadow of the hills. I sat and 
watched the maiden, as her cheek glowed with the fire of 
her thoughts, and her e3'es brightened with courage, or grew 
dim with tears. Ah, happy days of youth ! Could any thing 
be more joyful than to listen to these wonderful stories, and 
this lofty poetry, from the lips of one so dear and so beautiful? 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 29 

Then, on other days, she read to me of the stern Romans, 
and spoke to me of their mighty power, which had grown for 
many years, like a cedar of Lebanon, which battles with 
tempests, and looks in the face of storms, and ever reaches 
out farther its vast limbs. So the Romans, rulers of the 
world, wise and strong, had reached out, till they governed 
the world. But they were cruel and hard masters, who 
plunged their sw^ord into the heart of every people, and plun- 
dered all nations. They led to Rome, in triumph and in 
chains, every king who resisted their power, and trampled 
out the hopes of mankind. And, as she spoke of them, 
she became possessed with the demon of hatred, and a 
fierce tone was in her voice which I knew not before, and her 
celestial beauty was changed into another of a terrible kind. 
I feared and grieved as I beheld it. Yet, after a little 
while, this passion passed by, and the glory of her beauty 
returned. 

One day, as we sat together, she said, "The time has 
come, my brother, to let thee share in a great secret. I 
have tested^ thee, and found thee true to thy people and to thy 
religion. I have told of the vast strength of Rome, and how 
it holds with the grasp of its legions all the corners of the 
world. But there is an invisible power stronger than the 
armies and the sword of the Romans, — a power which is 
making ready to crush them. It is a power which the thirty 
legions of Rome cannot war against. It is a stone cut out 
of the mountains without hands, that shall roll on and on, 
till all things are made smooth for the coming of the Great 
King." 

I heard her with surprise, and asked what she meant. 

" Know," answered the girl, " that there is a great league 
extended through the world, bound by solemn oaths to make 
proselytes to our law. It works in darkness ; and, though 
the lords of Rome suspect and fear it, they cannot discover 
it. It works under the direction of men chosen from the 



30 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Pharisees, and indeed its members are mostly Pharisees. 
They are all bound to go where they are sent, and to obey 
those who are above them. All is darkness and mystery in 
this league. Thy father, th}^ brother, may be members of it, 
and thou not know it. When one joins this holy company, 
he becomes like a corpse, having no longer any will of his 
own. The Roman legions are not more obedient to their 
centurions than the members of this body are to the orders 
of those to whom they are subject. Each man knows his 
own commander, but no one else. They take all disguises : 
they go as magicians and astrologers into the palaces of 
Eoman senators, and even into the house of Caesar him- 
self. Women, as well as men, belong to this company. They 
practise all mechanical arts ; they go into every town in 
Italy and the provinces of Rome, to build the houses, tan 
the leather, make the tents, and forge the vessels of copper 
and tin. They are the carpenters, the smiths, the musicians, - 
the scribes, the gardeners, the carvers, the mone3^-changers 
in all lands. And in all places their aim is the same, — to 
make proselytes to the law. All means are right to do this. 
Falsehood and force cease to be wrong when done in the 
cause of Yahveh. So say our wisest teachers." 

" But thou thinkest not thus, O Miriam ! " cried I. " Say 
that this is not thy thought ! ' ' She looked steadily in my 
face, and answered, " What do I know, Thomas? I am only 
a woman. But this I know, that our holy league has dug 
away the very foundations of Roman power. There is 
treason in the emperor's palace. We have insinuated every- 
where fear and doubt. We have taught the Romans to 
despise their own religion, and to look with reverence on 
ours. We have persuaded them that Rome is soon to fall, 
that they are living in the ninth age of the world, and that 
when the tenth age begins, then Rome will sink in ruins. 
Our sacred writings are in the very temple of Jupiter, and 
the senators send to the Capitol to consult the sibyl, who 
only speaks our words." 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 31 

"How can this be? " said I, more and more confused in 
my thoughts. 

" A hundred years ago, and more, the temple of their idol, 
whom they call Jupiter, standing on the sacred hill in the 
midst of Rome, took fire, and burned to the ground. I do 
not say that this was the work of our people ; but many think 
so. This idol was believed to be the guardian of the state 
and nation, powerful to wield the lightnings ; and all the 
power of Rome rested in his hands. But in an hour he was 
destroyed with his temple. And great fear came on the 
nation. In the temple, also, were destroyed the sacred books 
of Rome, the oracle of the sibyl who once dwelt at Cumse, 
on the Italian shore. And the Romans were in great terror 
because of the loss of these sacred books. Then some of 
our people told them of another ancient sibyl, who once 
lived on the coast of Asia, and prophesied, and how her 
prophecies were still to be found in that land. So the senate 
sent a delegation to find them ; and some of our scribes had 
written out carefully in Greek letters verses which rolled 
like the sea, and which had no sound in them like the voice 
of our Sacred Scriptures ; but the doctrine of those verses 
was taken from our books : so that now the wise Romans have 
been made fools by us, and read the words of our prophets. 
Also, their great singer, whom men call Maro, has sung in 
his poems of our kingdom and Messiah ; and he knew it not 
himself, but thought he was singing in Latin words the proph- 
ecy of the sibyl of Asia." 

I heard all this with wonder, and said, " When, O maiden 
of Migdol ! did all this knowledge come to thee ? ' ' 

She answered thereupon, and said, "Wonder not, but 
listen. The women of Judah are not all like the pale and 
weak maidens of other lands ; nor do we hide in inner 
chambers, but go boldly forth. The chain of womanhood is 
indeed heavy ; but sometimes we break its iron, and cast olf 
its burden, and live in the light of the sun. Our women 



32 THK LEGEND OF TH03IAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

have dene great deeds, and shall do more. The}' have ruled 
the kings who ruled the world. So did Hadassah, whom 
men called Esther or the planet Venus, rule the great King 
of Persia b}^ her beauty and her wisdom. So did the beauty 
of Mariamne govern, in spite of himself, the stormy mind of 
Herod. When he was about to kill her, she looked at him, 
and the sword fell from his hand. So did the noble Alexan- 
dra rule the people in her da}^ and make the land at peace. 
For the beauty of other women is of slaves, but that of the 
daughters of Israel is that of queens. The pale loveliness 
of the women of other lands is mixed with snow, but ours 
with fire. Like Jael, we can smite with the sword ; like 
Deborah, we can lead armies to victory, and then chant the 
inspired song of triumph." So saying, she rose, and reached 
out her right arm, white and firm as marble, toward the sky, 
and her shining hair floated around her noble head like a 
glory. 

And then, still standing, and speaking as to herself, she 
said. '' And why shall not our women to-day be like Esther, 
and Jael, and Deborah? Have we less of beauty to charm, 
or of courage to dare, or of a terrible power to blast and 
destroy? I feel in myself, Thomas my brother, that Yahveh, 
who chose a shepherd-boy to be the great king of Israel, 
may take me to be a scourge and a plague to our opj^ressors. 
Once, as I was passing with my father through the streets of 
Tiberias, we met the tetrarch. Herod Antipas. He stopped 
to speak to my father ; but, while he spoke to him, he looked 
steadily at me, and I felt, that, if I wished, I could make 
him my slave. Since that time, he has often sought to see 
me, and to speak to me, and has asked my father to lead me 
to his palace, and bring me to see the games in the Stadium. 
If he should make me his wife, I would bend his will, so that 
he should take the heavy taxes from our people, and put the 
children of Israel in all the places of power." 

*' But he is married," said I ; " and he has a queen, — the 



MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 33 

daughter of Aretas, the Arabian. Besides, O Miriam ! 
wouldst thou, a daughter of Israel, be the wife of that 
wicked man, a murderer, and full of all baseness and iniqui- 
ty, whose very palace is polluted, being built on ancient 
tombs ? Would it not be better to be the wife of one of the 
children of thine own people, even though thou must live in 
a humble place, than to wear fine linen and purple, and feast 
every day with this son of Satan? " And I spoke angrily ; 
for the thought of her being the wife of Herod gave a sharp 
pain, like a dagger driven suddenly into my body. 

Then the wild and changeful girl laughed aloud, and said, 
" Fear not, O Thomas ! this will never happen. Yet to 
live in a palace, and be a queen, is not an evil thing, if one 
is queenly. I saw this queen, the daughter of Aretas, as she 
rode in her chariot ; and though she wore jewels glittering 
from her nostrils, and bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and 
her dress was of woven gold, yet her face was tawny, and 
she looked like an image carved out of wood by some unskil- 
ful hand. They say she has a thousand garments, — some 
transparent as the thinnest mist, and others white with 
pearls. But, had I such splendor, I would make all who saw 
me say, ' It all belongs to her of right. She was born to be 
a queen. The jewels do not adorn her ; she adorns them.' " 
And then she laughed her bright ringing laugh, which rippled 
gayly from her lips, like the sudden outburst of a bird's song. 

But I, still sad, though I sat in the sunhght of her beauty, 
said, " How proud art thou, O Miriam ! Is it not a danger- 
ous thing to be so proud? The demons have power over us 
when we think too highly of ourselves." 

And then, with one of those sweet smiles the like of which 
I have never seen on any other face, she answered gently, 
"O Thomas! that thou shouldst say this! Thou thinkest, 
then, that I am not fit for such a high place ; thou thinlvcst I 
have not beauty, nor courage, nor fire. I think too highly 
of myself, do I not, Thomas ? But I am fortunate ; for I 



34 THE LEGEND OF THO^LVS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

have a friend always read}' to put me back iu my place, when 
I try to go out of it." 

"No place on earth is too high for thee, O Miriam! I 
meant not that. Thou knowest that was not my thought. 
I believe not that Cleopatra of Egypt was more beautiful 
than thou. Thou art the wisest, the bravest, the loveliest, 
of all women ' ' — 

'*Hush, hush!" said she, putting her hand before my 
lips. " Now thou art my Satan, Thomas : thou dost fill ni}^ 
ears with what may make thy friend too proud. But indeed 
I am and will be proud of thine honest friendship. Eemem- 
ber that, Thomas, but forget all else that I have said to- 
day." 

And she rose, calm as the blue sky above us, and we 
walked side by side down the hill toward oui- homes. 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCKIBES. 35 



CHAPTER III. 

I GO TO A SCHOOL OP THE SCRIBES. 

The teacher who had charge of our synagogue was Mas- 
ter Jehuda. He was of the family of Ezra the scribe. He 
gave his whole mind to the study of the Thora, and of the 
traditions. He was filled with the spirit of understanding. 
He knew the sayings of renowned men, and could expound 
subtle parables. He sought out the wisdom of the ancients, 
and studied the meaning of prophecies. He not only knew 
and could repeat the whole written law, but also that which 
had never been written, but was sent down from one Sopher, 
or scribe, to another. I now see, my children, how dead 
this knowledge was ; but then we all reverenced our scribe 
as the very voice of God in our midst. I wished to go and 
sit at his feet, and learn his wisdom, but dared not say so, 
even to my mother. The thing seemed too great for me. 

One day I saw Rabbi Jehuda walking in the meadows 
which lay near the high hills on the western side of our 
valley. He walked, as was his custom, lost in thought. 
He seemed like a man moving in his sleep. They said of 
him that he had forgotten all common things. As one who 
goes to the bottom of a deep well, and looks up, and can see 
the stars in the day, but nothing else, so men said, "The 
Master Jehuda looks from the deep well of his knowledge, 
and sees the stars of eternal truth." 

They said of him that he would walk into a house, and 
think it his own, and sit down at the board spread for the 
mid-day meal, and cat and drink as if he were at home, not 



36 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

speaking to any one, but plunged in thought. At other 
times, when he met any one, either a carpenter who was only 
wise in his work, or a potter who put his trust only in his 
wheel, he would begin to speak to him of whatever he was 
turning over in his mind, not knowing but that he was talking 
with some learned master in Israel. One day he met my 
brother on the shore of the lake, and unmediately said to 
him, ''It is prohibited to place the pots of victuals in a hot 
place on the sabbath, or to put together on the festival large 
loaves ; but thin cakes are allowed." And. having said this, 
he walked on ; so stupefied was he with his wisdom, like a 
man who has taken much strong wine. 

But when I saw him, on that day, walking in his medita- 
tion, a great longing came over me, and I ran after him. 
Yet, when I reached him, I was afraid, and followed slowly 
behind. 

Directly he turned and looked at me, and said, ''What 
wilt thou?" I stooped, and lifted the hem of his garment, 
and kissed it, and said, "I wish for knowledge." Then 
light came into his eyes, and they seemed to be glad inward- 
ly ; and he replied, '' Xo one has asked knowledge of me for 
many days. My best joy is first to learn, then to teach. 
Come to me, my son ; for thy face is eager, and I see m thine 
eyes a great hunger to know the truth." 

Accordingly I went to him, and learned from his wisdom. 
First he told me how Moses, when he remained so long on 
the mountain with the Lord, even forty days and forty 
nights, received, not only the written law, but also its expla- 
nations. And, while he gave the written law to be read aloud 
to the people, he taught the law of the mouth, which was its 
explanation, first to Aaron, and afterwards to Aaron and his 
two sons. And while Moses was teaching them, the seventy 
old men came in, and INIoses recited a third time to them this 
word, which was to go from mouth to mouth. And then all 
the people came together, lougiifg to hear the word ; and 
Moyes repeated it u fourth time to the people 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 37 

Thus the people heard it once, and the elders heard it 
twice, but the sons of Aaron three times, and Aaron himself 
four times. Thus, when Moses went back to his tent, Aaron, 
who already had heard it four times, repeated it again ; so 
that his sons also had now heard it four tunes. And then 
Aaron, also, went to his tent. Then the sons of Aaron, 
Eleazar and Ithamar, who had now heard it four times, re- 
peated it again ; and so the elders had also heard it four 
times. And they repeated it to the people ; and then the 
people also knew the whole law perfectly. Afterward the 
law itself was written down ; but the explanation of the law 
was kept in the memory, and became the law of tradition, 
which is also called the law of the mouth. "Thus," 
said Jehuda, "there are two laws, — the written law and 
the spoken law, both coming from the Spirit of God. And 
without the law taught by the mouth, the other could not be 
understood or obeyed. For example, the written law said, 
concerning tha feast of tents, ' Ye shall dwell in tents seven 
days.' But, after the Lord commanded Moses to write this 
precept, he told him to teach by mouth that this precept was 
not of obligation for women, nor for the sick, nor for travel- 
lers, also that the tents must not be covered with cloth, but 
with the boughs of trees. And other such things were taught. 
So, too, the Lord, in the Book of the Going-Forth, which de- 
scribes the going-out of Egypt, forbids that any work shall 
be done on the seventh day. But in the law of the mouth 
it was explained exactly what kind of servile work was for- 
bidden, and what was allowed ; so that, without the spoken 
law, the written law could not be understood or obeyed." 

Then I said, " O Master ! I would learn this spoken law." 
And he consented, and agreed to teach me. 

After this, I went every day to the house of Jehuda to 
study that which we called "Talmud," which by interpre- 
tation means tradition. And I grew very zealous in the 
study of this law. I believed that only by this knowledge. 



38 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

and by obeying it, could our nation be saved ; for my 
master showed me, that, though the written law might be 
destroyed, this law in the mouths of the doctors could 
never be lost. He showed me, that, where the doctors were, 
the people who wished to obey God could always learn 
whether they were doing right or wrong. They might mis- 
understand the written law ; but, if so, they need only go to 
their master, or to the scribe of then- synagogue, and he 
would tell them what was right. 

Where the scribe was, they had, as it were, Moses himself 
just come down from the Mount, standing by their side. He 
reminded me how, before the enslavement in Babylon, the 
Jewish nation had been inclined to rebellion and idolatry. 
" What has altered them," said he, " so that now there is no 
idolater among all our people ? It is because, since the cap- 
tivity, we have had our schools and synagogues, in which 
the law of tradition has been taught, so that things have 
been kept in a fixed order. Thus oneness of belief prevails 
in all places. The heathen may rage, and the kings of the 
earth take counsel against us ; but, as long as the doctors of 
the law study and teach the one holy tradition, this is 
like a great anchor, holding the ship fast amid' all storms. 
The law which God wrote upon stones may be broken to 
pieces by the hand of violence ; but the law which he wrote 
on the tables of the human heart and mind can never be 
demolished." 

Fully convinced by this argument that God himself was 
continually present with his people in the body of the rab- 
bis and scribes, all the love I felt for my nation, and all 
my love for Yahveh, made me the more zealous to study this 
great law. I said, " Every thing has a right way or a wrong 
way of being done, and I must learn to do every thing in the 
right way." The words of the scribes and the elders 
became so important to me, that they wliolly took my mind 
away from the wiittcn law ; and the propliets seemed to me 
not so iireat as the doctors. 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. Sd 

After this, I often went to see Jelmcla ; and he received me 
gladly, and answered all my questions very willingly. One 
day he said, " My son, you must become a scribe." And I 
said, " Master, tell me truly what a scribe is." 

And Jehuda answered, "The scribes in Israel are the 
wise men and the holy men, on whom our whole nation 
depends for its life. 

' ' Without them we should be like a land in which the figs 
did not ripen, nor the corn grow, nor the olives bear fruit. 
We should starve and die. For Moses says, ' Man does not 
live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of 
the mouth of God.' Now, the scribes hold the key of the 
knowledge of the spoken word. If we live by every word 
that proceeds from the mouth of God, we live by the spoken 
word, or Talmud, which only the scribes know." 

Thomas. — " How do the scribes know this word, as no 
one else can know it ? " 

Jehuda. — "They know it by the tradition. This word 
is so sacred, that it must not be written down ; nor must it be 
told to every one. So God appointed not only priests for 
sacrifices, but also ordained that there should be a body of 
scribes to guard and keep the law, and to teach the people 
what they are able to understand." 

Thomas. — "Tell me, master, if thou wilt, more of the 
scribes? " 

Jehuda. The scribes have kept the sacred books safe, 
and preserved them until now. They have copied them in 
the ancient language of the Hebrews, in which they were 
first written by Moses and the prophets, — a language which 
the common people do not understand. Had it not been for 
the scribes, you would not have to-day any sacred books ; for 
they would all have been lost in the great captivity of Baby- 
lon. But the scribes carefully concealed these books, and 
kept them safe, and thus they have been preserved to this 
time. They also copy them. so carefully, that not a single 



40 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

point of a single letter has ever been changed from the 
beginning. AVhen the scribes make a new copy of the law, 
they are so careful, that it is impossible for them to make' 
any mistake. They wipe their pen after each letter, and, if 
a single error is committed, they destroy the whole roll : so 
much do they respect the written word. Therefore you 
owe it to the scribes that you know any thing of Moses and 
his law. And they have done for 3'ou much more than this." 

Thomas. — •' But why do they not write the law in the lan- 
guage of the people, and let us read it ourselves, instead of 
keeping it in this ancient tongue of the Hebrews, — a lan- 
guage which is no longer known among us? " 

Jehuda. — ''Because the common people, if they were 
allowed to read the law, would not understand it aright. 
They would make great mistakes, and fall into much sin. 
They need to have the law not only read to them in the syn- 
agogues by the scribes, but also explained to them in their 
own language. Tell me, Thomas, hast thou belief in the 
resurrection of the dead ? ' ' 

Thomas. — "How shall I not believe it. master? Is it 
not a part of our religion ? ' ' 

Jehuda. — "And 3'et Moses did not reveal it in the 
written law. His five books say nothing to us of a future 
life. Nor is it taught by the prophets, nor in any sacred 
writing. How, then, wouldst thou know "that there is any 
future life but by the sacred tradition, which has come 
down from the fathers, and been taught the people by tlie 
scribes? And tell me, Thomas, dost thou believe in prayer? 
Dost thou think it is a duty to pray to God? " 

Thomas. — " Surely, master, I do. How can there be any 
religion without praj'er?" 

Jehlt)a. — " But, in all the five books of the law, Moses 
has said nothing about praj'er. It is not once written, ' Thou 
shalt pray to God, and make tli}' wants known to him.' 
David in his Psalms, and the prophets, teach us to pray ; but 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 41 

how could they have learned of this, except through the tra- 
ditions which the holy scribes have handed down to us ? A 
scribe is one, then, who preserves the life of the nation by 
keeping in safety both the written law and the traditions. 
He, also, is the teacher of the people, at whose feet they 
ought always to sit, and receive his words as coming from 
the Lord. And, more than this, the scribes are the judges, 
who explain when men have broken the law, and decide 
what penalty must be laid on them ; so that the scribes main- 
tain justice in the land, and cause the offender to be pun- 
ished. And some of us do more than this. I will tell thee, 
Thomas ; for thy soul seems to me to be pure, and able to 
understand deep things. The scribe sometimes gives up all 
other work, in order to search the Scriptures. He searches 
for the hidden meaning which lies below the letter ; for, in 
the holy word, there is nothing which is not filled full of 
mystical meanings. There is the meaning which lies on the 
surface, which all men can see ; below this there is another 
meaning, by which one thing is seen to be the reflection of 
another, as the image of a tree in the water reflects a tree on 
the land ; and below this, also, there is the meaning of the 
symbol and type, by which one person or one event holds in 
its heart the essence of another ; and, deepest of all, there 
is another meaning, which we call Kabbala. He who at last 
sees that can leave his body, and go into the world of spir- 
its, and know all mystery. Sometimes, when I seem to you to 
be like one asleep, I am searching for the Kabbala, which 
shall lift me up so that I can talk with Abraham and David 
face to face. Thus, Thomas ! thou mayst see what a great 
work is to be done by the scribes." 

Thomas. — "I see it, my master, and I understand their 
greatness. I have also heard it said that their work is to 
put a fence around the law. What does this mean? " 

Jehuda. — "It means, to make the law safe, so as not to 
be broken. A fence is put around a field to keep the flock 



42 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

safe in the field, so that it shall not escape : so a fence is 
placed around the law to make the law safe. Thus the 
law says, 'Thou shalt not boil a kid in his mother's milk.' 
But to make that law safe, and to be sure that it shall not be 
broken, we make it more strict, and teach that no flesh shall 
be cooked with milk, not even the flesh of birds : for, my 
son, if we are so careful as not to eat any flesh and milk 
together, we shall be sure not to break the law concerning 
the flesh of a kid. So, also, the law of Moses tells us not to 
do any work on the sabbath day. But this law must have 
a fence around it to keep it safe ; and so the scribes tell us 
that we must not begin a work on the sabl)ath eve, lest we 
forget and go on with it during the sabbath. The inhabit- 
ants of Tiberias once carried a pipe of cold water through 
their hot spring to use it in their houses for washing ; but 
the scribes explained to them that they must not use that 
water on the first day of the week, because it had been 
heated in the spring on the sabbath. Nevertheless, there 
is necessary work which may be done on the sabbath : 
therefore the scribes explain distinctly what necessary work 
is, which may be done for the sick, or for food, or any thing 
made to be used during the sabbath, but not to last after- 
wards. Thus a man is taught that he may open a cask, to 
get dry figs from it, provided he does not do it for a future 
use. Men may do what is necessary for a corpse on the sab- 
bath, but nothing more than is necessary. All these things 
the scribes must understand distinctly, and these they learn 
in the schools of the rabbis." 

Then I said, " O master ! how shall one become a scribe? " 
And he answered, " Thou must go to a school of the scribes ; 
and the best of these schools are at Jerusalem. There the 
rabbi will examine thee, to see if thou art able to learn ; 
and, if thou art able, thou wilt become one of the chosen, 
and begin thy work as a scholar in a chamber of the temple. 
There thou wilt study all questions concerning the law ; and, 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 43 

after thou hast reached the proper age, thou wilt be exam- 
ined again, and admitted to the work of the scribe by the 
rabbi, who will put his hand upon thee, and give unto thee 
tablets, and a key, as a sign that thou dost belong to .this 
brotherhood. It will be well for thee, if thou canst enter on 
this way of knowledge. And I will write for thee a scroll to 
take to Jerusalem to a friend, — a rabbi held in much esteem, 
— asking him to admit thee into his school." 

So I went home, and told unto my mother all that the mas- 
ter had said. And my mother was astonished and grieved, 
and said, "How can I spare thee, and how can thy brother 
spare thee, to go from us and become a scribe?" But, 
because she loved me much more than she loved herself, she 
at last consented, and said, " Go, my son, in the name of the 
Lord. And let thy mind, when thou art in the school, not 
be like a funnel, which lets every thing go through ; but, 
rather, like a sponge, which sucks every thing up. And let 
it not be like a strainer, which lets the wine pass out, but 
keeps the lees ; but, rather, like the millstones which grind 
the hard grain into fine flour." Thus spake my mother. 

I grieved at the thought of leaving Miriam, and seeing her 
no more for many months. But she exhorted me earnestly 
to go, saying that I should by this journey and study grow 
stronger to help the great work which was to be done for the 
people. " In Jerusalem," she said, " is the seat of the Sepa- 
rate Society, of which I told thee. When thou returnest, 
thou wilt be able to tell me many things I desire to know con- 
cerning its purposes. Go, then, Thomas, but remember that 
thou and I are joined in friendship, and that some day we are 
to work together for the kingdom which is to come." 

Thus I took leave of the maiden, and went on my way to 
Jerusalem, the holy city of our nation. 

Ah ! can I tell you, my children, how my heart was moved 
at the sight of that great city, the holy city of our people ? 

There I saw the vast temi)K', rising like a mighty pyramid 



■14 thp: legp:xd of thomas. called didy.mus. 

of raarble. court nbove court, until behind and above all 
stood the Holy of Holies. And there I saw Mount Zion, 
which had been the city of King David, and where the great 
tent of the Lord stood, until Solyma built the temple ou 
Mount Moriah. But I will not speak to you of these histo- 
ries, my children, but only of what I myself heard and saw in 
that sacred city. 

AVell do I recall the day when I reached the summit of 
the moimtain called the Mountain of Olives, because of the 
many orchards of olive-trees which clung to its sides, and 
lay around its base, like birds settling down into their nests. 

From this high summit, men looked far away. — to the 
mountains covered with snow at the north, to the distant hills 
of Moab rising to the east behind, like a dark and solemn wall 
shutting in that ancient land of wonder. On the south rose 
in the distance the summit of Hebron, while directly below, 
in front, lay the city itself, a mighty fortification of glitter- 
ing marble, lifted on a wall of massive hewn stones. How 
many words from the psalms which I had heard sung in our 
synagogue came to my mind 1 — • • Beautiful for situation, the 
joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, the city of the great 
King. God is known in her palaces as a sure refuge." So 
near we were to the city, though the valley of Jehoshaphat 
lay between, that it looked as if one could cast a stone over 
the valley into its streets. Beyond the city the eye reached 
as far as the blue of the Middle Sea, while the sheet of 
water called "The Dead" lay in shadow behind us. But 
that which chiefly held the eye. so that one could scarcely 
look at any thing else, was the great temple, first built by 
the wisest of men. Solyma, and afterwards rebuilt by Herod. 
It stood on the very edge of a frightful precipice, dazzling 
white, and rising like a pyramid, court above court, terrace 
above terrace, each court surrounded by long walking-places, 
with many columns of marble. The one direct!}' in front 
extended along the summit of the precipice, and above the 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THP: SCRIBES. 45 

wall I could see its lofty pillars, with their heads crowned 
with golden fruit, and surrounded with silver leaves. On the 
highest part was the Holy Place itself, dazzling the eye 
with the reflection of the sunshine from its plates of gold. 
It seemed as if I could never tire of looking at this beauti- 
ful object. But at last I descended the hill, passed through 
the valley, and mounted the steep path which led through the 
eastern gate into the city. The streets were narrow and 
dark. The people sat in their doorways and in the streets, 
and, as I passed along, examined me curiously, seeing that I 
was a stranger ; so that I was glad when I reached the house 
of the scribe to whom I had been sent. He welcomed me 
kindly, and introduced me to the teacher in whose school 1 
was to learn the wisdom of the ancients. 

And, first of all, I was taught our sacred writings, and a 
knowledge of the holy language, called Hebrew, in which 
Moses and the prophets wrote. 

I also listened to the lectures of the rabbi who was the 
head of the school. We usually stood around him, or sat on 
the floor at his feet, with our tablets in our hands, on which 
we wrote the words of our master. 

My new teacher confirmed what I had heard from my old 
rabbi at home. He said that there were three kinds of tra- 
dition, without which the written law would be of no use. 
These are like the three veils before the tabernacle of Moses. 
Lift the first, and you enter into the vestibule ; pass through 
the second, and you enter the holy place ; remove the third, 
and you are in the Holy of Holies. The first he called Hal- 
ACA, the second Agada, and the third Kabbala. The Ilala- 
ca teaches the art of reasoning, by which you can go to the 
root of the Word ; and the knowledge of this is necessary in 
order to understand and to obey the written law. It tells 
exactly how every thing shall be done v/hich is commanded. 
For example, Moses said that the words which he taught 
should be bound for a sign upon the hand, and be as front- 



4G THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

lets l)etween the eyes, and be written upon the posts of the 
house, and on the gates. But then the Talmud, or spoken 
law, comes to us to tell us how these frontlets, called tephil- 
lah, shall be wiitten, and on what kmd of parchment, and 
with what sort of ink, and how large they shall be, and in 
what kind of case they shall be kept, and with what sort of 
strings they shall be tied, and where they shall be put, — on 
the arm, — or on the forehead, and whether they shall have 
fringes to them, and what particular texts shall be written 
upon them, and on what days they are to be worn, and at 
what hours in the day they shall Ije read aloud. All this, and 
much more, must be known, or else the law of Moses cannot 
be properly obeyed. 

It is also necessary to know when to begin to wear them, 
namely at the age of thirteen, and that they must be put on 
before each prayer, saying these words. •• Blessed art thou, O 
Lord our King, who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, 
and taught us to use the teplullah.'" And at that moment 
he must fasten the tephillali on the arm by running the 
leather thong through its loop. And. if this is properly done, 
then great help will come to the soul. 

Our rabbi gave this to us as an example how every com- 
mand of Moses needs to be explained by the Halaca. other- 
wise not one of these commandments can be properly obeyed. 
Now, the law of INIoses in the five books contains two hun- 
dred and forty-eight positive commands and three hundred 
and sixty-five negative commands : hence it may be seen how 
vast is the range of wisdom in the Halaca, which is neces- 
sar}' to be known. 

''But after the Halaca." said our teacher, '-comes the 
Agada, which is a higher wisdom, taking the soul up into 
the region of philosophy, and also teaching what the proph- 
ets and saints, and angels of God, have done and are doing. 
But the Kabbala is a yet deeper knowledge, teaching what 
are numbers and proportions, and the forms which contain 



3 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 47 

all others. By moans of this knowledge the rabbi can do 
miracles and wonders." Of these our teacher gave us the 
following examples. I will repeat one or two, my children, 
that you may perceive what was the knowledge taught in 
our schools. 

Our teacher informed us that the Prophet Elijah was still 
living, going about the world, — in appearance a venerable 
old man with a long beard ; and he added this story concern- 
ing him : — 

" On a certain day a rabbi named Benjamin, well taught 
in the Kabbala, met the Prophet Elijah, and saluted him, and 
said, ' I know that thou art Elijah the prophet, going about 
the world in the service of God ; and I wish to go with thee, 
and see what thou doest.' Elijah replied, 'I cannot refuse, 
since thou knowest the Kabbala. Thou mayst go with me 
and see what I do, but ask no questions ; for, when thou ask- 
est a question concerning what I do, the power of the Kab- 
bala will cease, and thou must leave me.' So they came to 
a town in which lived an old rabbi and his wife, who enter- 
tained them with hospitality. These two lived by means of a 
cow which gave a large quantity of milk ; and the wife of the 
rabbi sold the milk to the neighbors, and this was their sup- 
port. In the morning the good woman arose, and provided 
their morning repast. And, as Elijah and Benjamin went on 
their way, the woman came after them, and cried, saying, 
' My lords, the cow, which is the support of my husband 
and myself, is dead ! ' And Elijah answered, ' Verily, I 
asked the Lord that it might die, and he has heard my pray- 
er.' And so they went on their way. And Benjamin feared 
much, but dared not ask a question. 

"And, as they were travelling, they came to a certain 
place on the sabbath, and entered -into the synagogue ; and, 
when the service was over, no man saluted them, or asked 
them to his house. This was strange to Benjamin ; for the 
Jews are taught to welcome strangers gladly. But Elijah 



48 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

lifted up his voice, and prayed that each one of this congre- 
gation might be chosen a ruler of the people. 

" And on tlie next sabbath they came to another village, 
and again entered into the synagogue. But here the Jews 
of the congregation showed them much kindness, and took 
them to their homes. But this time Elijah prayed that only 
one of them might be made a ruler. And so they went on 
their way. 

" And now the Rabbi Benjamin was much disturbed in his 
mind, and wondered exceedingly, and said, ' Can this, in 
truth, be Elijah, the man of God ; for he does all things con- 
trary to reason ? ' But he dared not ask any question. And 
so they went on their way. And as they journeyed they 
saw a great palace upon a hill, where dwelt a rich Jew. 
And they knocked at the gate, and asked for hospitality. 

'' But the master of the house, who was a man of a mean 
spirit, called them beggars, and ordered his servants to drive 
them away. But Elijah said, ' I will go, but first I must 
punish this man for his unkindness.' 

"Now, this house stood in the midst of a great garden, 
where were many noble trees and fountains, and a high wall 
around it. But in one place this wall was weak and totter- 
ing, and about to fall. And Elijah said, ' Stand up, O wall ! 
and become solid and upright.' And the wall stood up, and 
became firm. 

"• But then Benjamin became full of indignation, and said, 
' All thy doings, O Elijah ! have been opposed to reason, 
and are intolerable. AVhy is it that thou hast done this ? ' 

"Then Elijah replied, 'For thy good, O rabbi, have all 
these things been done. For the fault of the wise man is, 
that he thinks he knows the reason of all things, and that 
which ought and ought not to be ; and so he blames the Al- 
mighty because every thing is not as he considers best. Now 
I have done these things that thou mayst be convinced of 
thine ignorance. When the good woman rose in the morning 



I 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 49 

to prepare our meal, I perceived by inspiration that her days 
were numbered and finished, and that she would die before 
evening. And so I praj^ed the Lord, for the sake of the poor 
old man her husband, that her life might be spared, and that 
of the cow taken ; for the rabbi could get another cow, but 
never a wife as good as she. Moreover, when we came to the 
first synagogue, where no man saluted us, I prayed that all 
might become rulers ; knowing that they then would have no 
peace, but each be striving for the mastery. But in the second 
synagogue, where we were treated kindly, I prayed that there 
might be only one ruler in their midst ; for then all would 
look up to him, and the peace of God would be there. 

"Moreover, Elijah proceeded, and said, 'Most of all, O 
Benjamin ! wert thou surprised because I punished the rich 
man for his cruelty to strangers by making his wall stand 
upright. But the reason was this. 'Long ago, when a great 
band of robbers came to plunder that town, the people buried 
all their jewels and gold under that very wall. But the peo- 
ple were carried away captive, and so the treasure remains 
there to this day. If the wall had fallen, the cruel man 
would have found the treasure ; but, by making the wall stand 
upright, it remains concealed from his eyes. ' ' ' Such parables 
did our teacher tell us, to show the power of the Kabbala. 
And I, being only a youth, then believed these stories to be 
true. 

On other days our teacher would explain to us the his- 
tories concerning Moses and Noah, and other patriarchs, 
and answer our questions concerning them. Thus one day 
we asked him how it was, that, if Noah were a man of God, 
he should have become drunk by means of the fruit of the 
vine. Then the rabbi gave to us this narration : — 

" When Noah planted the vine, he asked the Lord to cause 
it greatly to increase, so that the world might be full of its 
grapes. But Satan stood by, looking on, and said, 'The 
Lord has heard his prayer, and the vine will go through the 



50 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

whole world. But I will make evil follow it.' Then the 
Devil, with his evil spirits, killed a lamb, a lion, and a hog, 
and caused the blood of each to run into the ground upon 
the roots of the vine. So, when the grapes were ripe, Noah 
crushed them, and made wine of the juice. First he drank 
a little, and his heart was glad, and his face shone with 
sweetness like that of a lamb. Then he drank more, and 
became excited with rage, and was like a lion, and his family 
feared exceedingly before him. Then he drank again, and 
became drowsy, and his mind departed from him, and he 
slept the sleep of the swine." 

And again we asked the rabbi how it was that Moses 
when he came down from the mount was so careless as to 
drop the tables of stone. And he told us that each of these 
stones weighed a ton ; but, the moment that the command- 
ments were traced upon them by the finger of God, they 
became as light as a feather. Now when Moses came down 
from the mount, and saw the multitude shouting around the 
molten calf, some rays of sunshine reflected from the idol 
touched the tables of stone, and immediately the letters flew 
away, and the tables became of their former weight. Then 
Moses could not support them, and was obliged to let them 
fall ; and that was why the stones were broken. 

Another day our teacher took us to the temple, that he 
might explain to us the services and the sacrifices. You 
must know, my children, that this great temple of the Jews 
was the sacred place for the whole nation, and that a multi- 
tude of people, both priests and the children of Levi, were 
appointed to perform its services. There sacrifices were 
offered every morning and evening for the sins of the Isra- 
elites in all lands ; and the whole nation was believed to be 
in reality offering those sacrifices for its sins, and asking 
God's blessing every da3^ No matter where the Jews were, 
all over the world, they sent to Jerusalem their tribute every 
year for tiie support of this their iJiiblic- worship of God, 



1 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 51 

each man sending his half- shekel. A¥ith this money and 
other contributions the daily worship was carried on, and the 
temple and its priests supported. A perpetual fire burned 
on the great altar where the lambs were sacrificed each day ; 
and every day the morning and evening incense of fragrant 
spices was burned on another altar of gold where no blood 
ever came ; and the fragrance went up to God as the nation's 
prayer. 

So the rabbi took us one morning to show us the temple. 

High walls arose all around. Through these walls, gates 
of brass and gold opened into the first court, which was called 
the Court of the Gentiles. The gate by which we entered 
was called the Gate of Beauty, and was wholly made of 
brass from Corinth, and so large that twenty men with all 
their strength could barely open it. Through this gate we 
entered into the Court of the Gentiles, where all the believers 
of other nations were allowed to come, bat could go no 
farther. , When we went into it, it was crowded with people 
going and coming, buying and selling, and seemed to us 
more like a market than a sacred place. Here sat women 
offering doves to those who wished to sacrifice them, and 
here were men with scales, weighing the pieces of gold and 
silver brought from foreign countries, which were Greek 
and Roman money, and changing them into the half-shekels 
which were to be paid as tribute. All around this court 
arose columns supporting roofs, and making shaded porticos, 
within which the people walked to and fro. 

We asked our master why this beautiful court was thus 
turned into a market-place, and he answered, "Because only 
the Gentiles come here ; and, as the Gentiles are profane, 
the place itself must always be profane, and cannot be made 
sacred, and therefore may lawfully be put to profane uses." 
Then from this Court of the Gentiles we ascended l)y a lliglit 
of steps through another gate, which opened through the inner 
portico, and went up into another spncious sciuare. This 



52 THE LEGE^'T) OF THOMAS. CALLED inDYMFS. 

was also suiTouuded ])y cloisters and columns, within which 
were chambers occupied by the priests and the Levites, who 
there kept the tools and furniture which were used in the 
services. All the noise and tumult which we had heard below 
was now gone. On the lower side was one court for the 
women, and on the other, above, were courts for the men. 
The courts of the men were a little higher than that of the 
women, and separated from it by a low railing of stone beau- 
tiful W carved. 

When we reached this place, we heard the chanting of 
the psalms, and the sad wail of the trumpets blown by the 
priests in the inner court, which was still higher up, above 
wdiere we were. And as this solemn chanting, broken by the 
long-drawn cry of the trumpets, came to our ears, and we 
saw the smoke which ascended from the great altar, going 
up against the blue sky, and thought how our nation forever 
worshipped God, the King of kings, in this place, it seemed 
as if this were the holiest spot of all the earth, and that the 
whole nation were truly a priesthood for all mankind. Then 
we thanked God that we, also, were children of Abraham. 

Around this square were rows of lofty columns, like those 
in the Court of the Gentiles below ; but behind these col- 
umns were large rooms used in many ways by the priests 
and the Levites. In each of the four corners of the square 
were schools, kept by famous rabbis. In other chambers, 
behind the columns, were offices where the priests examined 
the lepers who were crowded around, each waiting his turn 
to enter. These wretched sufferers were miserably diseased. 
Fortunate is the nation where this disease is not known. 
The poor leper was declared to be unclean by the Hebrew 
priest who examined him, and was obliged to leave his fami- 
ly and friends, and go into an asylum made ready for him. 
When he went out into the streets, he must walk by himself, 
not going near any one. with bare head and torn clothes. If 
anv one came near to him. he must crv out, '* Unclean I" 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 53 

When healed of this disease, he still must not go home, or 
touch any one, until he had gone to the temple, to the 
Chamber of the Lepers, where the medical priests sat, who 
were to examine him again. If they declared him to be 
clean, he must then offer a sacrifice on the altar, by the hand 
of the priest, and then might go once more to his home. In 
other chambers were kept the instruments of music. One 
room was filled with trumpets, another with harps. In other 
rooms were deposited the precious and fragrant spices used 
for incense. Around the entrance to other chambers stood 
the parents who had brought their children to be circum- 
cised. Meantime we saw many persons passing across the 
court in white dresses of fine linen singularly shaped. They 
wore on their heads caps of cloth made in the form of white 
lilies, and they walked with bare feet. We asked our master 
who they were, and he told us that they were all priests, and 
that these were the dresses of the priests. But our master 
told us that the priests, though all were children of Aaron, 
had lost much of the wisdom of their fathers. "To us," 
said he, "the scribes, it has been given to understand and 
teach the Word ; and without the Word all the sacrifices of 
the priests would not avail." 

Nevertheless, the priests seemed to us to be full of labors ; 
for many of the people were waiting in the court with their 
victims, ready for sacrifice. So we asked our master to tell 
us the meaning of sacrifice ; for in Galilee we never offered 
sacrifices. We saw men waiting, some with oxen, some with 
sheep, others with goats, or with cages in which were doves ; 
and then we saw others, who were too poor to offer such 
victims, who had in their hands baskets with meal, or bread, 
or cakes, or ears of corn, or bottles of oil. All these stood, 
each waiting his turn, near some of the chambers. And 
therefore we asked our master the meaning of these sacri- 
fices. And the master spoke thus : — 

"All these sacrifices are the same as prayers, luid without 



54 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the spirit of prayer they are of no avail. The sacrifiee is 
the body, of which praj-er is the soul. Men are so made, 
that they need to see the thought within them taking some 
outward form, else the thought is only a dream in the mind, 
and does not become an action. Therefore it has been 
ordained by Moses that the prayers of the people shall 
become visible in such sacrifices. If one has received a 
blessing from God, he brings a thank-offering, which is some 
sheep or lamb from his fold ; and the Lord accepts it as the 
outward sign, or sacrament, of his inward thought. And if 
he has committed a sin he brings a sin-offering, which is in 
like manner an expression to God of his desire for pardon. 
The priests take these animals, and offer them up for him ; 
and, after the victim is offered, they burn incense on the altar 
as a sign of the prayer which has gone up to God. Then 
the man who offers it goes home, and knows that the Lord 
has accepted his offering ; and his soul is at peace. But all 
this must be done at Jerusalem in the temple, that it may 
not become a superstition." 

Then one of my companions, who had read the Scripture, 
said to the master, " Why, then, do the prophets speak in the 
name of the Lord, and say, ' Incense is an abomination to 
me. To what purpose the multitude of your sacrifices? I 
delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he- 
goats. AYho hath required this at your hands to tread my 
courts ? ' " 

The master answered, "The prophets said this because 
the people foolishl}^ thought that their sins against justice and 
mercy could be forgiven because of a sacrifice. But this is 
not the meaning of sacrifices. No man can offer a sacrifice 
for murder, or theft, or any other wickedness, and be for- 
given because of his sacrifice. Only that part of the sin is 
forgiven which makes him unclean, and separates him from 
the holy people. In order to l)e forgiven his iniquity against 
God and man, he must purify his heart by the sight of truth 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 55 

and by his knowledge of the divine word. He can go free 
from the outer part of his sin by going to flie priest, and 
offering his sacrifice ; but, in order to kill the heart of his sin, 
he must come to the scribes, and learn what they have to 
teach. Then he will know the truth, and the truth will make 
him free." 

Thus spoke my master, the wise and good scribe. And 
afterward I heard the same words from another master, 
greater than he. But I do not tell you about this now, my 
children, for every thing should be narrated in its order. 

Then, as we walked by the side of these chambers, we 
came to a larger hall, where there were many people assem- 
bled ; and over the portal of this hall was written in letters 
of gold these words, "The Gate of Justice." Our master 
told us that this was a seat of judgment, where offences 
against the law were tried every morning. Here were 
judges, who were scribes and priests, and who sat on a high 
seat, and listened to every complaint, and heard the witnesses, 
and called upon the man who was accused to answer, if he 
could, and defend himself. 

And thus as we walked through this Court of the Jews it 
seemed to us that the temple was the great heart of the 
land. Here were its thought" and its life. Here, on the sum- 
mit of all, stood the holy place glittering with gold. Here 
burned the perpetual fire on the vast altar ; and the priests in 
their white robes were daily chanting the psalms, blowing 
the trumpets, and offering sacrifices to God. And here in the 
court below were the rabbis, teaching the two laws, written 
and spoken, and in the courts executing justice between 
man and man. The scribes were also there, teaching every 
man his duty, and hearing all difficult cases. And outside of 
all was the great Gentile Court, where men of every nation 
under heaven might come, and worship before God. AVhile 
we marvelled at all this, the rabbi said, "And yet in the 
first temple there were five wonders, wliich came down from 



56 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Mosos, which we have not. That temple had in it the 
ark of the covenant, with its mercy-seat. There was also 
the fire which had been kindled from heaven, which had 
never gone out. That also contained the very Urim and 
Thummira which Aaron wore ; and the holy spirit of proph- 
ecy dwelt in it. But now we will go up to the Court of the 
Priests." 

As none but priests were allowed to enter this court, we 
stood outside the low wall of carved stone, and gazed Vv'ith 
delight and wonder at what we saw within. 

First there rose before us the vast altar, so large that it 
seemed like a great marble building, but diminishing in size, 
from the foundation to the top, like a pyramid, of which the 
upper part had been taken away. The marble sides were 
covered with ornaments of brass, and a gentle ascent led on 
one side to the top. Here we saw burning the perpetual fire, 
sj^mbol of the never-ending worship which our nation, scat- 
tered through the world, here gave to the one true God. As 
we looked at the great pure flame soaring up to heaven, fed 
forever with smokeless fuel by the priests, we remembered 
what we had been told concerning it in our synagogue, —how 
it couched on the altar like a lion, how its light was far- 
darting like that of the sun, how the flame looked like solid 
silver, and how some said it was the same which fell from 
heaven in answer to Elijah's prayer. That this fire was the 
same as that, they said was proved by its having the power 
of burning water as though it were oil. 

But still more beautiful and wonderful than this great 
altar of burnt offering, where the sacrifices for all mankind 
went up to heaven, was the temple itself, which rose behind 
it. We had yet seen only its outworks and protecting courts. 
It stood on a platform of squared stone as high as two tall 
men standing on each other : steps behind the altar led up 
to this platform. We saw before us the portico, with its great 
carved columns, behind which, suspended on the walls, were 



I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 57 

hung, arranged in beautiful forms, gifts of gold, silver, and 
jewels, and a golden vine, with grapes clustered in such 
masses, that, when the sun shone on them, they dazzled the 
eye with their glory. In the midst, and before the door open- 
ing into the sanctuary behind, was a Babylonian veil of 
cloth-of-gold, through which the priests passed into the holy 
place to kindle the incense on the altar. 

While we looked, we saw the priests making their prepara- 
tions for the duties of the day. We had come early ; for our 
master wished to show us the whole daily service from the 
beginning. Every morning the priests bathed themselves, so 
as to begin the day with purity of body as well as purity of 
mind. Then, very early, two companies, with torches, made 
a circuit of the temple, to see that there was nothing in any 
part which would defile or injure it. After visiting and 
examining every part of the courts, they came together at 
what was called the room of the pastry-man, near the gate 
of Mcanor. Here they cast lots for their duties. Some 
were to remove the ashes from the high altar with silver 
shovels ; some were to carefully clean all the altars in every 
part ; some were to select and examine the victims, to light 
the lamps of the golden candlestick, to kindle the censer of 
incense, to bake the loaves of sacred bread. After all this 
was done, other priests took the keys and opened the seven 
gates of the court of Israel, so that the people might enter 
the temple. 

And now, as we stood and looked, the two companies of 
priests sounded their silver trumpets, that the service of tlie 
day might begin. The Levites who were to chant the 
psalms went in procession to their music-desks : those who 
had been selected to represent the nation before the temple 
took their places on either side of the altar. Then there was 
a silence ; and as we looked we saw two priests go up the 
tweh e steps of the temple, and open the doors which led from 
the portico into the sanctuary. Then the lamb for tlie morn- 



'06 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

iug sacrifice was led up upon the altar, and the trumpets now 
ceased their prolonged wail, and all was silent while the inno- 
cent victim fell. The priests next went to pray for a bless- 
ing to be given during that day to the Jewish nation through- 
out the world. After that another priest recited aloud the 
Ten Commandments, and at the end of each the Levites 
chanted a petition that the nation might obey that divine 
command. Then the great bell of the temple was rung and 
the lamb put upon the altar, the blood sprinkled, the incense 
lighted, and the Levites and priests chanted the psalms 
which had been chosen for the service of the day. Finally 
the high priest came forward and blessed the nation, and the 
morning service ended with trumpets and a song of praise. 

Having witnessed all this solemn service, we returned filled 
with many thoughts to our home. 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MT SOUL. 59 



CHAPTER IV. 

I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 

So I studied many months with my master the scribe. 
But now my mind was drawn to a new matter. In going- 
through the streets I often met men who looked so strangely, 
that I could not help stopping to gaze at them. They had 
on their foreheads black bands which covered the whole of 
the head above the eyes. Broad purple stripes and long 
fringes hung from their robes. They walked forward as if 
they saw no one, being lost in meditation. Sometimes two 
or three would be standing together repeating prayers during 
a long time. I remember that one morning I passed one of 
them as I went to my scliool. He was standing at the corner 
of a street repeating prayers aloud ; and when I came back, 
some hours after, he was there still, and was still repeating 
his prayers. Many men and women looked at him wonder- 
ing. When I asked who these people were, the man to whom 
I spoke marvelled, and said, " Dost thou not know that they 
belong to the holy society? These men are those who pro- 
fess purity, and separate themselves from others, that they 
may lead pure lives. Some call them Pharisees, or the 
Separate Ones. And I tell thee, young man," continued he, 
" that these holy men are the safety of our nation, and atone 
for all its sins." 

Then I wished to know more concerning this society of 
the Separate Ones. After I had learned about them, it 
seemed to me, that, what the scribes taught, the Separate 
Ones performed. They promised each other to keep free 



60 THE LECiKND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDV.MLS. 

from all siu against the law. When they joined the society, 
they bound themselves by strict rules. The first was to give 
to the Lord a tenth part of every thing which was bought 
or sold, or eaten or drunk, by thenl. And therefore the}^ had 
a second rule, which was this, — never to eat or drink in the 
house of any who was not a Separate One, lest they should 
eat something of which the tenth part had not been paid 
to the Lord. Another rule was. not to touch any thing un- 
clean. And they were very strict about unclean things and 
about washings. They washed their hands continually to 
free themselves from any uncleauness, and they said that 
the hands became unclean, not onl}^ when they touched an 
unclean jar, but when they were put into the empty space 
inside of it , and that even touchuig the Scriptures made the 
hands unclean. Some of them, however, taught that only 
the Book of Songs, which is Solomon's Song, and the book 
Kohaleth, or Ecclesiastes, make the hands unclean. 

And when I heard how good and hoh' these men were, 
and how they lived pooi-ly. and despised all pleasure and all 
repose, and how full of zeal they were for our holy religion, 
and gave their monej' to the poor, and fasted often, and 
denied themselves all enjoyment, for the sake of God, and 
went far away among the heathen to teach the law of Moses 
to all mankind, then I desired to become a member of this 
holy society ; for I longed for excellence, and I thought the 
Separate Ones were more holy than the scribes- I there- 
fore went to one of them and told him my wish ; and he said, 
''If thou wilt belong to our holy body, and enter religion, 
and obey the rules, and separate thyself, in order to be a 
saint, thou must first learn what thou wilt have to do. We 
are they wdio come out from the world, and oppose all mix- 
ture, wishing to be pure : for as a little poison mixed in water 
may destroy life, and a little contagion in the air may carry 
disease, so a little mixture of the Roman and Greek customs 
may destroy our whole religion." 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 61 

Then he examined me to see whether I knew the law and 
the tradition; and he asked, "What, O Thomas! is the 
Shemah?" 

And I replied, "It is the command of Moses, 'Hear, O 
Israel ; The Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy strength.' " 

" How often and how late must one repeat the Shemah? " 
I answered, " At least twice a day, and as late as midnight, 
or till the pillar of the morning ascends." 

"How often should one fast?" I said, "It is good to 
fast twice a week ; but - the men who stand near the priest 
during the sacrifice, in place of the whole nation, may fast 
also on other days, only not on the sabbath, nor on the 
days before and after the sabbath." 

After asking many such questions, and being contented 
with my answers, he admitted me as a disciple of the holy 
society in the presence of witnesses. And I became very 
zealous for the law and the regulations. 

So I went into the work of religion, joining myself to the 
other members of the Separate Ones with the same force of 
soul with which I had studied the traditions in the house 
of the learned. I lived now with three members, in a room 
of a house belonging to the society. We were obliged to 
live together in order to be separate from the common peo- 
ple, and to obey our rules strictly. Each one wore the robe 
of the order, with its purple stripes and fringes, and its black 
band over the forehead. Every day we went to a hall in 
the temple to be taught the rules of the order. We sat on 
the ground around our teacher ; and, as he taught the rules, 
we repeated them after him three times, and before the end 
of the day we had to repeat them again to each other many 
times to fix them in our memory. All this I did with such 
zeal, and such full belief of my heart, that I could even now 
repeat to you, my children, a great multitude of such com- 



62 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

manclments. These things at this time appear to me no 
better than the dust which the idle wind blows into the eyes 
of the traveller ; but then we sincerely thought to save our 
souls, and to become pure from all evil, by perfect obedience 
to all these rules of religion. When I think of our strong 
and honest devotion to such empty practices, I remember 
what I have read in a letter written by my wise brother in 
Christ, Saul, who is also called Paul. He, too, had belonged 
to our societ3^ and had strictly obeyed its rules. I remem- 
ber that he scarce^ ate or slept, but prayed and fasted more 
than any of us. The good Lord has also broken his chain, 
and given to him the blessed liberty of those who are God's 
children, and not his slaves. But perhaps he was thinking 
of the vast edifice of minute rules which our teachers had 
built up, when he said, "If a man build a house of wood, or 
dried grass, or the stubble of corn, it will be burned, and all 
his labor thrown away ; but, if the builder be honest though 
ignorant, his own soul ma}^ be saved, though with difficulty, 
like a man who hardl}" escapes with his life from a burning 
house." Certainly God will not punish an honest man for 
his mistakes ; and yet he who spends his life in considering 
anxiously idle questions and empty distinctions must have a 
starved and puny soul. Only truth and reality make the true 
bread which strengthens man's heart. 

I am sure, that, if this religious discipline could do good, 
it would have done good to me ; for I spent all my time in 
learning the rules, and trying to obey them. 

We had rules for every thing we did, taught by our rabbis, 
and handed down by tradition. There were rules for praj^er, 
telling us precisely how often to pray, and what to say. Our 
rabbi was Gamaliel, and there was sweetness and much lib- 
erty in his teaching, when compared with some others ; for 
he belonged to the school of Hillel, which gave more freedom 
than the school of Shammai. It was said that our rabbi, 
Gamaliel, repeated his prayers as usual on the evening of 



I 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 63 

his marriage, and his disciples reminded him that he had 
taught that a bridegroom was exempt at such a time. He 
answered, " I will not withhold my homage from the kingdom 
of heaven for a single moment." He also bathed when his 
wife died, thus violating his own law of liberty, and excused 
himself by saying, " I am not like other men: I am weak, 
and need to be more strict in my obedience." And when 
his slave Tabbi died he received visits of sympathy. Again 
his disciples reminded him that visits of consolation were 
not to be received for slaves. Then he replied, "My slave* 
Tabbi was not like other slaves : he was a friend of God." 
Thus our rabbi himself sometimes modified his own rules 
according to the reason of the thing. 

We had rules for every thing we did ; and all our actions 
had to be carefully weighed and measured, as the tradesman 
weighs meal in scales, or measures cloth with a rod. The 
rules commanded us to say eighteen benedictions every day. 
If we were riding on an ass, we must dismount to say them ; 
if hi a cart or ship, we must turn our thoughts to the Holy of 
Holies in the temple. We must pause before we prayed, to 
direct our heart to God. On some kinds of food we must 
ask a blessing ; on others not» Where different fruits were 
in one dish, we must. ask separate blessings on each. A dif- 
ferent prayer was to be said for thunder, for the sight of 
mountains, for the sight of the ocean, for rain, for good 
news, and for bad news. Neither must we ask a blessing on 
any thing which belonged to an idolater. 

We had many rules in regard to washing. If we ate bread 
which was not consecrated, we must first wash our hands up 
to the wrist ; but if it was consecrated, we must wash them 
twice in this way. We must not pour water on each other's 
hands, nor out of the bung-hole of a cask, nor water which 
had been used for any other purpose. 

The rules for the sabbath were very numerous, and we 
must distinctly remember them in order not to be sabbath- 



Gi: THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. 

breakers. Thus if a beggar took money with his own hand 
from the wallet which was handed to him, the beggar broke 
the sabbath, but the other not. We were taught that we 
broke the sabbath if we took a needle out of the cloth in 
which it was sticking, when not a single stitch had ])een 
made ; if we went out with a reed-pen in our hand ; if we 
read by candle-light ; or if we did any thing on the sabbath 
eve which might cause work to be done on the sabbath day. 
Lamps might be lighted on the sabbath with some kind of 
wicks, but not with others ; nor must we put out a lamp 
already burning to save the oil or the wick. Meat must not 
be cooked on the sabbath, nor water heated. 

All these rules and many others I carefully learned, and 
endeavored faithfully to fulfil. But, instead of finding any 
peace or satisfaction from all this effort, I seemed only to 
be more dissatisfied with myself. I denied m3\self all pleas- 
ures and many comforts ; I spent much time in reciting my 
prayers ; I fasted often : but gloom, instead of peace, filled 
my mind. I groaned under a great weight of sin. The 
more I tried to do right, the more I seemed to go wrong. I 
had no comfort nor satisfaction in any thing which I did, or 
from which I abstained. All life seemed to be going away 
out of my heart. 

AVhat made the matter worse was a doubt which now began 
to enter my mind in regard to the superior holiness of some 
of our society. There were three teachers whom I often met 
walking, who were much in each other's societ}', though very 
different from each other. One of them was our own teacher, 
Rabbi Gama-liel ; the second was named Rabbi Nehemiah ; 
and the third was Rabbi Ben Gamlah. Rabbi Gamaliel was 
a wise and kind man, and I could not help loving him ; 
but, somehow, every thing he said seemed to throw a gentle 
spray of moisture on the fire of my zeal. No doubt he 
loved our religion, and was very much interested in all its 
doctrines and its worship ; but 1 missed in him that burning 



I 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 65 

conviction that every thing not Jewish was hateful to God, 
which I had always thought essential to true piety. To hate 
with a holy hatred the idolatries and idolaters of the world 
I believed to be a main part of the Jewish faith. But Rabbi 
Gamaliel was in the habit of speaking of other religions as 
though they might contain some truth mixed with a great 
deal of error. He thought it very wrong to worship idols ; 
but he said that many who were called idolaters did not 
really worship the idol, but used it merely to fix their minds 
on God. He compared them to those whom you will some- 
times see looking at a painted likeness of a friend, and talk- 
ing to it lovingly, as though it were itself their friend. He 
said that they were not so foolish as really to confound their 
friend with his picture ; but they used it to fix their mind 
upon their friend. And thus, said he, do some idolaters use 
their idols. He wore a ring bearing upon it a head carved 
in the stone. And some thought that he broke the command- 
ment which says, '' Thou shalt not make any graven image 
the likeness of any thing in heaven or on earth." But he 
replied,' that the law did not forbid the making, but only the 
worshipping ; for Moses himself who gave this law made a 
l)razen serpent in the likeness of the serpents upon the 
earth. ''Moreover," said he, "do you not see the golden 
grape-vine, with its leaves and clusters, on the holy place 
itself ? That is made in the likeness of the vine and grapes 
on earth. It is not making these things, but worshipping 
them, that God forbids." 

I also heard that once, when Rabbi Gamaliel visited Tibe- 
rias, he went into a bath where was an image of a devil, 
very beautiful, called Venus, whom the Romans worshipped. 
And, when some men rebuked him for doing so, he said, " I 
went in to bathe, and not to worship that piece of stone. 
The stone is nothing : why should I fear it ? The bath was 
not made for the stone ; but the stone was put there because 
of the bath." And tliey greatly marvelled at him. 



66 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDTJrUS. 

I sometimes walked iu the fields with my master Gamaliel ; 
and once he took me to a height where we could see the 
snowy peak of Hermon to the north, and the great sea 
gleaming iu the sunshine on the west, and the black moun- 
tains of Moab beyond the Dead Sea. Then he talked of the 
goodness of God who had made the world so beautiful. He 
also repeated passages from the Greeks, which showed them 
to be feeling after God ; and he told us that the Greeks had 
their, prophets as we had. though much inferior to ours. 

I loved to hear my master Gamaliel talk in this way ; for, 
while he spoke, Jehovah seemed to fill the world, and not be 
confined only to our own small nation. But at the same 
time I found my zeal for my own religion growing less ; for 
if the religion of the heathens were not wholly false, and if 
they might also be saved, then why need we care so much 
about making them proselytes to our own religion? Thus 
m}' mind was filled with doubt ; and I carried with me the 
sense of sin, which was a burden hard to bear. 

I have said that there were two other rabbis who walked 
often with Gamaliel, but were unlike him. Rabbi Xehemiah 
was very kindly-natm'ed, and merry of heart. I observed 
that he was fond of eating and drinking, and talked a great 
deal about his dinner and the kind of wine he liked best. 
He was often seen talking and laughing with the people at 
the corner of the street. All liked him, and came to him for 
advice. Some people told him that he laughed too much, 
and cared too much for the things of this world. But he 
quoted the Scripture, that '' a merry heart maketh a cheerful 
countenance," and that "a merry heart doeth good like a 
medicine ; " and the other Scripture which tells us to " drink 
our wine with a merry heart." And I knew that he, also, 
was a good man ; but somehow to see him, and to hear him 
talk, weakened my zeal for my religion. 

The third of these three was Rabbi Ben Gamlah, and he 
was different from the others. He smiled when he looked at 



II 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 67 

you, but never laughed. His eye watched every one with 
whom he spoke, and noticed every thing that happened. 
Like that creature which they call a chameleon, he changed 
his aspect wherever he was, and became like the people about 
him, and so was pleasant to all. His cheeks were thin and 
dark ; nor could any man tell from his face or his voice what 
he thought, for his tones were measured, and he spoke care- 
fully. He did not care much for knowledge, and still less 
for pleasure ; but what he desired most was power. He 
desired that the Pharisees should become powerful among 
the Jews, and that he should become powerful among the 
Pharisees. He cared not for the happiness of others nor for 
his own, so that he might gain power, and with it build up 
the society. He meant to do every thing for the glory of 
God ; and I think he would have been willing to sacrifice his 
own life or that of others for this end. Any thing was right 
which would help this great cause. It was fearful to see a 
man so strong and so determined in his own mind who was 
ready to run any risk himself, or inflict any pain on others, in 
what he considered the cause of God. And this fear which 
came over me at the sight of his dark face and glittering eye 
also increased my doubts and my discouragement. 

One day Rabbi Gamaliel sent for me to come to him in 
his chamber in the temple. I passed through the crowded 
streets, narrow and dark, from which the high walls on 
either side shut out the sun. Then I entered the Court of 
the Gentiles through the southern gate, which was like a 
great stone building with a double arch. Going through this 
gateway, I passed from the darkness and closeness of the 
outer streets into the grand Court of the Gentiles, filled with 
the sunshine on the pavement below. Double rows of 
Corinthian columns stretched from one end to the other of 
the vast enclosure. I came to the marble screen, which no 
Gentile must pass under peril of death, and went up through 
the Beautiful Gate, covered with gilding and carving, to the 



G8 THE LKOEXD OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDVMUS. 

chamber of the rahbi. He said to me, "I have sent for 
thee, Thomas, to give unto thee this roll, which contains a 
book thou hast not 3'et read ; but the time has now come for 
thee to read it. Thou hast studied the sacred language of 
our fathers, and thou art now able to read the Scripture. 
This is the Book of Job. Read it through, and then come to 
me, and say what it has done for thy soul." 80 I took it with 
me to my room, and spent the whole day in reading it. 

Even now, after many years, I remember the feelings roused 
within me by this wonderful poem. It seemed to take me 
into another world. There was a strange, solemn music in 
the verses. They marched on with the measured tramp of 
an army. The pictures of the vast earth, with its infinite 
varieties of animals and plants, mountains and rivers ; the 
solitude of the wilderness ; the crowds of cities ; the solemn 
night with great star-clusters moving on through the sky : 
the north, with its fields of snow, and its rivers made solid 
with ice ; the hot winds of tlie south, making the desert like 
a furnace, with the sky burning above as a ])razen mirror, — 
all this was a world of wonders passing before my cjt^s. So 
it is wlien the banks of a river, with its trees, houses, and 
hills, pass by a man drifting down the stream in a boat. 

I had been ])rought up in the strictest school of Hebrew- 
piety. My awe for the great Creator, King of kings, Lord 
of lords, knew no bounds. But l)efore I read this book, it 
was a blind and ignorant fear ; now it was a sacred fear 
filled with knowledge. I seemed to see the Being of beings 
in the very act of creation ; laying the foundation of the 
earth ; fixing its deep corner-stone ; gathering in his hands 
the vast ocean, and pouring it out into its deep abj-sses ; 
holding up his finger until the enormous waves subsided at 
his divine command. I heard his deep voice ordering the 
morning dawn, rosy red, to go to the east ; telling the light 
where to pass, the rain when to fall ; leading all the beauti- 
ful stars to their places, and grouping them in well-ordered 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 69 

families. And then appeared in the broad firmament of 
heaven the rejoicing mnltitude of angels and archangels, 
filling the universe with harmonies of celestial praise, even 
the stars sending forth music as they moved, and the sons 
of God shouting for jo3^ 

Again the picture changed, and there came before me the 
far-reaching sandy deserts, swept by steadfast winds. The 
hawk was hanging in the air above, poised on his motionless 
wings. Below, I saw the heedless ostrich sweeping in care- 
less flight over the desert plains. Presently there came upon 
the scene a wild Arab clan, with white turbans and glittering 
spears, watching the approach of a hostile tribe. They came 
toward me at full speed ; the wild fury of motion sweeping 
man and horse along, like a raging torrent which has broken 
its banks. I heard the scream of the trumpets, the thunder 
of the galloping horsemen, the awful crash when the battle 
joined and horses and men struggled together like writhing 
serpents. 

And now it was night, and the desert was silent. Pale 
in the solemn moonlight lay on the sand the horses and their 
riders. On far-stretching wings the eagles hovered above, 
waiting to descend upon their prey. 

Then as I read on, entranced by these wonderful pictures, 
I was carried into Egypt, and beheld the Nile rolling its 
majestic stream between the shores where grow the papyrus 
and the lotus, and where among the reeds wallow enormous 
monsters. On the land there stood a terrible unknown crea- 
ture, covered with impenetrable armor, breathing fire from 
his mouth, and full of such fierceness that the bravest trem- 
bled in his presence. 

But far more than these wonders of the world was the 
knowledge which this book gave me of the heart and life of 
man> I was carried back to those early days when God 
could be heard talking among his angels, and when good 
men were his friends. I heard the debate in heaven when 



70 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

Yahveh held a council of angels, and listened to their judg- 
ments on the conduct of men below. They talked about 
Job, a chief of chiefs in Arabia, whom all men reverenced, 
whose cattle filled the valleys, and whose flocks whitened the 
hills. He was the friend of God and of men. The light of 
Yahveh shone on his path. He was the protector of the 
poor, and plucked the prc}^ from the jaws of the tyrant. 
Honor and reverence waited on his steps. 

Then, by the permission of God, the searching angel was 
allowed to test his goodness with dreadful calamities. Yet 
he held fast his integrity, and accepted in silence the evil 
with the good, at the hands of God. 

Then came the three friends, and sat beside him, mourn- 
ing and weeping, till Job at last, weighed down by his awful 
sorrow, uttered a great cry of despair, cursing the day of his 
birth, and wishing that he had died before he was born. His 
friends, showing no sympath}^ with his sorrow, gave him 
advice, and told him, that, since he suffered, it must be as a 
punishment for some sins. They charged him to confess his 
sins, and said that God would then forgive him. " All suf- 
fering," said they, "is punishment; for even if a child be 
born blind, it must be a punishment for some sin of his 
parents, or for some sin of his own committed in a previous 
state of being." Therefore they asked Job to bethink him- 
self whether he had not been too proud of his uprightness, or 
trusted too much in his own piet}^ so as to excite the jeal- 
ousy of Yahveh. Some great crime he must certainly have 
committed, else he would not have been so severel}' punished. 

Now, this doctrine was exactly what I myself had always 
believed. It surprised me, therefore, to find Job declaring 
that he had not sinned at all, or, if he had, that he did not 
know it. " Convince me that I have sinned," said he, " and 
I will admit it ; or let God himself show me wherein I have 
done wrong, and then I will confess it. I know mj' words 
were rash and hasty ; but the words of a desperate man are 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 71 

but air. Let the inspector of men show me what I have 
done amiss, and I will own it. But I will not tell a lie, even 
to please the Almighty. He is all-powerful ; he can destroy 
me when he will : but I will not profess what I do not be- 
lieve because he is the Almighty. I will hold fast my integ- 
rity, and not let it go : I will not speak words of wind in 
order to please the All-powerful." 

There was sublime strength in this, and a courage, which 
filled me with admiration, but also with fear. It shocked me 
to hear any man say he was not a sinner. To refuse to con- 
fess his sins until he saw them seemed a wicked audacity. 
I had been taught that it was impossible to say too much in 
confessing one's sins. Our rabbi used to quote continually 
the saying of the prophet, that " the heart is deceitful above 
all things, and desperately wicked ; " and that other saying, 
that "all our righteousness is like filthy rags." Thus I 
thought that Job must be wrong in refusing to call himself 
a sinner ; and I read on, impatient to see the end thereof. 

As the conversation went on, and the discussion between 
Job and his friends became more hot, my interest increased. 
But my mind was divided, and I grew irresolute, unable to 
decide whether Job, or his friends, were right. All my old 
belief was on their side ; but my feelings were with Job. 
They seemed to me to be right in saying that he was a sin- 
ner, and that he ought to confess his sins, and submit to the 
will of God. I could not comprehend the lofty pride which 
clung to its own convictions of right, even against the Al- 
mighty. I thought the friends had the truth with them when 
they said that the creature had no right to doubt the justice 
of the Creator, and still less to deny his own sinfulness. 
Yet there was something which touched a deep place in my 
soul in this picture of a human being refusing to submit to 
mere power, and demanding to see that this power was 
guided by justice. 

That I might understand it better, I put into my own 
language the substance of this conversation. 



4 2 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

PART FIRST. 

1. Job. — " I am so miserable I would I had never been 
born." 

2. Eliphaz. — "Thou oughtest not to say that. Thou 
oughtest instead to ask God to forgive thy sin. Thou must 
be 'a sinner; for even the angels are not pure before God. 
Thou art punished for thy sin, and it is for thy good. Only 
submit to God's will, and he will be thy friend again." 

3. Job. — "I suppose I spoke hastily ; but it was because 
I was in such affliction. Ye ought to be patient with me, 
and sympathize with me ; but ye fail me in my affliction. 
Ye are like the brooks which dry up in summer, when they 
are most needed. Do not rebuke me, but convince me. Do 
not reproach me, but explain to me my fault. Do not object 
to my language : the words of a desperate man are only 
air. ' ' 

4. BiLDAD. — " But thou oughtest not to complain of God ; 
since whatever he doth must be right." 

5. Job. — "I know that well. He is infinite in every 
thing. But I complain of this, that God maketh no differ- 
ence in his treatment of good men and bad. This world is 
given into the hands of the wicked. If this is not the Lord's 
doing, whose doing is it? I do not pretend to answer the 
Almighty, for he is too high above me. But if there were 
some one who could stand between us, and put his hand 
upon us both, some mediator, then I might speak ; but now 
I can only say. Spare me ! " 

C. ZoPHAR. — " This is all wicked talk. What canst thou 
understand of the ways of the Almighty? Repent of thy 
wickedness : that is the only thing for thee to do." 

7. Job. — " No doubt ye have all the wisdom there is in 
the world ; and it will die when ye are gone. I know that 
God is almighty as well as ye know it ; but what I want 
is the truth. Why manufacture lies, and put them in my 



I 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 73 

mouth ? Can I deceive the Lord by flattery, and please him 
with falsehood, as if he were a man? Ye are physicians 
of no value. Your maxims are lighter than dust, and your 
arguments fortresses of clay. But though I have no hope, 
and though God slay me, I will justify my ways before him." 

PART SECOND. 

1. Eliphaz. — "If what thou sayest, O Job, be true, 
there is an end to piety, reverence for the Almighty, peni- 
tence, and prayer. This shows that thou must be wrong." 

2. Job. — "It is very easy for ye to talk in this way; 
for ye have no suffering like mine. It does no good for me 
to speak, or be silent. Either way there lies nothing but 
misery ; and the best thing I can hope for is to die, and so 
there shall be an end to all." 

3. BiLDAD. — " Why talk thus? Thou art only adding to 
thy sin, and therefore to thy misery. It is not true that 
God treats the good and the bad alike. No one is punished, 
except for his wickedness." 

4. Job. — "0 my friends, why revile me, and tear me in 
pieces with your words? Have pity upon me, O my friends, 
have pity upon me in my utter misery ! I have asked only 
for justice. I have spoken only the truth. Would that all 
I have said were graven in deep letters on the face of a 
rock, where they would last forever ! For the time will come 
when all I say will be proved true. God himself shall be my 
vindicator, and show how wicked your accusations are." 

5. ZoPHAR only repeats what has been said before. 

G. Job. — " God doth not punish the wicked. They grow 
old in comfort and peace, and all the time they neither fear 
God, nor regard man. Ye may say that their prosperity is 
unstable, and soon comes to an end. Not at all. The bad 
man dies full of years and full of comforts. Ye may say 
that they are punished iif their children's disasters. But 



74 THE LEGf:ND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

why does not God puuish the wicked man himself? What 
does he care for what ma}^ happen after he is gone, when 
he will know nothing about it ? " 

7. Eliphaz, — " AYhat claim hast thou on God, or what 
rights hast thou against him? What good does thy good- 
ness do to him, even supposing that thou art good, which 
thou art not? All men are sinners, and thou art a sinner like 
the rest. Thine iniquities, like those of all men, are num- 
berless, and thou hast no right to any thing but to be 
punished." 

8. Job. — "Oh that I could find God, and speak to him ; 
for he would understand me, as ye do not. He would 
justify me ; for he knows that my wish has been to do right." 

9. BiLDAD repeats that God is almighty, and that all men 
are sinners. 

As the other friends have nothing more to say. Job 
goes on, and declares that the one thing he believes in is 
truth. "As long as I haA^e life," says he, " my lips shall 
not consent to any falsehood. I will never acknowledge that 
ye. speak rightly. I will declare my integrity to my last 
breath. I will hold fast my innocence, and not let it go ; for 
my heart reproaches me for no part of my life. 

" But how shall I ever learn the meaning of these mj^ste- 
ries? Man finds every thing else; he mines the earth for 
gold, he digs under the roots of the mountains : but he can- 
not find Truth. The deepest Cavern mutters, ' It is not in 
me.' Broad Ocean murmurs, 'It is not in me.' It cannot 
be bought with all the gold of the earth. Death and Destruc- 
tion have only heard of it. Truth belongs to God : man can 
never know it — all he can do is to fear and obey." 

And then I read how Job, his accusers being silent, de- 
scribed the nobleness and happiness of his past life ; how 
universal homage waited on him ; how the greatest princes 
reverenced his power, and the poorest child blessed his good- 
ness ; how he was on earth like* God, protecting the weak, 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 75 

and punishing the oppressor. And now how all was changed ! 
Now he was despised by those younger than himself, whose 
fathers he would have disdained to place with the dogs of 
his flock. Then he solemnly asserts his innocence of every 
crime, mentioning each sin one by one, and declaring him- 
self free of any offence which could justly bring down upon 
him so great a punishment. He had kept his life pure from 
inward and outward stain. He had done strict justice to the 
most humble of his servants. He had fed the hungry, and 
clothed the naked. He had not trusted in his riches. He 
had not worshipped the sun, moon, or stars, like the tribes 
who lived around him. He had been hospitable to strangers, 
even when they were his enemies. Finally he challenges all 
mankind to bring any charge against him. 

My whole heart was moved by this story. My soul melted 
within me on account of Job, he was so grand in his right- 
eousness and his truth. And yet all he said was sinful, ac- 
cording to what I had been taught in the schools of the 
Pharisees. The doctrine of my teachers declared man to be 
a sinner and always so. Else why these perpetual sacrifices, 
penances, washings, fastings, sin-offerings, trespass-offerings, 
and repeated ceremonies? And why, when Job justified 
himself, did he have nothing to say of these ceremonies and 
sacrifices? He must be wrong in claiming any merit for 
himself on account of his own goodness. No doubt, I said, 
he will be told in the end that he can have his sins pardoned 
only by offering sacrifices in the temple, by keeping the 
sabbath, the feasts and fasts, and giving tithes of all that 
he possessed. 

So I read on. Next came the speech of Elihu, who was 
angry with Job for calling himself righteous, and also angry 
with the three friends, because they were not able to answer 
Job. I said, "Here cometh the judge to settle the question. 
He will tell Job that he is a sinner, because all men are sin- 
ners ; and he will tell him that God has given us a way by 



76 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

which sin can be forgiven ; namely, the Law of Moses and 
the Ritual of Aaron." 

What was ni}^ astonishment, then, in finding that Elihu said 
nothing of this. He blamed Job for calling God unjust, and 
for being impatient, and not willing to wait. He blamed 
him for thinking that he had a claim on God for comforts 
and happiness because of his righteous life. He did not tell 
hun that he ought to say he was a sinner, but rather that he 
ought to say, "What I see not, teach thou me: if I have 
done wrong, I will do so no more." That was all. 

Then I said, " Elihu does not know more than the others ; 
but the Lord himself will speak, and teach Job the right 
way." 

Then I read the wonderful words of Yahveh at the end of 
the book, and my astonishment was greater than before ; 
for still he said nothing of what I had expected to hear. 
The Lord said nothing about the law, or sacrifices, or keep- 
ing the sabbath, or any such thing. There was a glorious 
declaration of the power of God in creation, a wonderful 
account of his greatness and goodness in the universe. All 
nature seemed to pass before me in one grand march, like 
that of an army. 1 stood b}^ and beheld the creation of the 
world, the harmonies of the stars, and triumphant shouts of 
the angels. 

The waters were rushing with rejoicing around the whole 
earth. The new-born oceans roared exultingl}-, pouring their 
mighty waves on every side. Then a hand was stretched 
from the clouds ; a voice spoke, and the seas obeyed, and 
went to their own place ; then the rosy morning smiled on 
the green earth as it rose from the ab3'sses of the deep. 

I read how the same great hand divided the light from 
the darkness ; heaping up the snows in the north ; with a 
touch of its finger sending the rain to its home in the clouds, 
and the glittering lightning to its hiding-place ; teaching all 
the burning stars to arrange themselves in shining groups, 
and so placing the whole world on its solid foundations. 



I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 7/ 

After this I read how all the annuals were provided for by 
the same mighty power, — the lions in their dens, the wild- 
goats among the rocks, the ravens filling the air with their 
melancholy cries, the wild ass roaming over the desert, herds 
of great buffaloes trampling the earth with a sound like 
far-off thunder. I saw the ostrich with up-lifted wings 
sweeping gladly over the sand, and the horse in the rage of 
his courage devouring the ground. The hawk circled aloft 
in the air, and the eagle, with far-penetrating eyes, was sit- 
ting on the lofty crag. The mighty animals of the deep 
were also there, their terrible forms rushing through the 
water, and making it boil like a caldron. 

That was all. No word was added. The majestic picture 
of creation was shown to Job, and it was enough. He had 
learned his lesson, and he bowed in silence, only saying, " I 
spoke ignorantly ; but now I know and repent. In the pres- 
ence of the universe and its Maker man ought to wait and 
be patient." 

To complete my astonishment, the Lord Yahveh then 
declared that what Job had said concerning him was good, 
and what the friends had said was evil. Yet the friends had 
spoken as my masters the Pharisees spoke, and Job had 
said the contrary. So I went away much perplexed, but 
yet feeling as if I had escaped out of a narrow, close and 
dark room, into the open air, where all was sunshine and 
fresh breezes. My mind was full of wonder, and much dis- 
turbed. In my heart I cried, " O Lord, let me know thy will. 
I shall walk at liberty, if I seek thy precepts." From this 
day I resolved always to ask the Lord to open my eyes, that 
I might myself behold the wonderful things of his law. The 
truth was sweet to my taste, and I sought to understand all 
the ways of God. 



78 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER V. 

I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 

After reading the Book of Job, I went to see Rabbi 
Gamaliel. And, when he asked me what I thought of it, I 
said I knew not what to think, since it seemed to contradict 
much which I had learned in the school of the Pharisees. 
And I said, ' ' O Master ! which of these is true ? for both 
cannot be true." 

And Gamaliel replied with a grave smile, " Wh}^ not, my 
son? There are different truths, — some higher, and some 
lower, — and they may seem to contradict each other ; but in 
reality they do not. It is true that the body needs food, 
and when we have fasted long we are hungry. But it is 
still more true, and a higher truth, that the mind needs food ; 
for, when the mind is hungry, the bodily hunger ceases. While 
thou wert reading that mighty poem, thy body was hungry, 
but thou didst not know it. Now thou hast become aware 
of thy hunger ; for I observe that thine eye has wandered 
while speaking to those grapes on my table. Take a cluster, 
my son, and eat, and satisfy the bodily want, now that the 
soul has been fed." 

I then became aware that I had fasted all the day, and 
gladly took the grapes, and ate thereof ; and my wise teacher 
continued to speak ; — 

' ' All the ceremonies and rites of our law — its temple and 
sacrifices, its sabbaths and festivals — are like the hunger 
of the body ; for religion has a body as well as a soul. The 
divine truths thou hast been reading to-day are food for the 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 79 

higher spu-it which is in man. Thou hast seen the people 
going up the steps to the inner court of the temple. If 
there were no steps, they could not go up : when they have 
gone up, they need the steps no more. So the steps are 
necessary, and not necessary, — necessary as a way, not ne- 
cessary when we are at the end of the way. Listen, Thomas, 
and understand. The doctrine of the Pharisee is necessary, 
else were I not a Pharisee ; but it is necessary like steps by 
which to ascend to a higher knowledge. If thou hast gone 
up by these steps, do not despise them because thou dost no 
longer need them ; for they still may be very necessary for 
others." 

" But," I said, " there may be many others beside myself 
who need this higher knowledge. Why not tell to them also 
that which thou hast told me, that they may know that the 
doctrine of the Pharisees is only a ladder, and the temple 
worship only the steps by which to go up to something 
higher ? ' ' 

"Every thing in its time," replied Gamaliel. " The time 
has not come for this great doctrine to be widely known. 
Perhaps thirty or fifty years from this time, the Lord, who 
has sent so many prophets, rising up early and sending them, 
will send a prophet to teach this truth also. Yet I fear, when 
he comes, that the people will kill him, as they have killed 
others. I, my son, am not a prophet. The Lord has given 
me the word of wisdom, by which to understand the differ- 
ences between things ; and as I hear I teach. But he has not 
given to me the word of prophecy, which burns mightily in 
the heart, and helps a man to make his face like a flint against 
the faces of those who resist him. Such men are greatly 
needed, and without them the world would fall asleep. But 
men like myself are also needed, and may do good, also, in 
their way. Now, my son, the time has come that thou 
shouldst learn more of the inward meaning of our law. For 
that purpose thou must go to Alexandreia, where my brother 



80 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Philo teaches. He, like myself, is a Pharisee ; but he has 
gone far beyoud the husk of the law, aucl feeds on the ker- 
nel. He will teach thee what thou art fitted to know. 
Moreover, thy mind will be enlarged by the sight of that 
great city, where all men congregate for study. It is the 
city of learning, as Rome is the city of power, and Athens 
the city of beauty, and Jerusalem the city of religion." 

I was well pleased with this advice, longing, like all 
young men, to see the world. I soon made myself ready, 
sending a message by a Galilean to my home to say whither 
my journey tended. I then departed afoot to Csesarea 
Stratonis, on the shore of the sea, where I had the hope to 
find a ship going to Alexaudreia. I also had a desu'e to see 
this Roman capital, built b}" the great Herod, of which I had 
often heard ; and I also longed to behold the vast sea, 
which reaches to Greece and Rome, and to almost all coun- 
tries of the world. 

Therefore one morning I set forth with my staff, and soon 
began the descent into the valleys. The plains were cov- 
ered with the growing corn, which gently bent before the 
soft airs coming up the valley from the distant sea. Through 
these fields of grain I walked all day alone, sometimes meet- 
ing a peasant and saying a few words to him, or asking him 
concerning the road. Sometimes the footpath would ascend 
so that I could overlook a large extent of country : in other 
places it would pass through a ravine of rocks, or a grove of 
palms. In a little village I stopped to take my noontide 
meal, and I asked what hill rose on the east. They told me 
it was the mountain of Gibeon, and away to the west was 
the vale of Ajalon. In the old war-songs of my people, 
contained in the Book of Jasher, it was sung, that, at 
Joshua's command, the sun stood still over the mountain of 
Gibeon, and the moon over the vale of Ajalon. Here was 
fought that great fight which gave the whole land of promise 
to my people. 'Here, in one mighty victory, were the assem- 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 81 

bled kings of the plain defeated. There was no day like 
this, before it, or after it. 

So I walked on, musing on these things. 

At Csesarea I found a large corn-ship bound from the mouth 
of the Orontes to Alexandreia for corn. I took passage on 
this ship ; and the north winds blew steadily, and soon 
brought us in sight of the lofty lighthouse which stands 
at the mouth of the great harbor. We hauled up to the 
docks, near the vast mole of stone which joins the city to 
Pharos. As we drew near the shore, we saw it lined with 
palaces, and behind them the buildings of the Bruchion, or 
the theatre, the Temple of Neptune, the great Market, the 
Royal Palace of the Ptolemies, with the buildings of the 
Museum and the Amphitheatre, and the mountain of Pan 
behind. Far away toward the right soared aloft the white 
marble tower of the Serapeum. As we landed, I was con- 
fused by the tumult of the streets, and the crowds. People 
in the dresses of all nations were pushing past each other, 
crying out in all languages, buying, selling, bargaining to- 
gether. I heard two men talking in Greek, and I inquired 
in that language the way to the Jews' quarter of the city. 
The Greek civilly showed me the way, and I soon found 
myself among the familiar faces of my own people. I asked 
for the house of my mother's brother, who had long lived 
in the city. He received me kindly, and before many days 
I began to be at peace in this new home. 

During the first week of my stay I pleased myself in 
walking about Alexandreia, and looking at the buildings. 
From the top of the Paneum, which stood in the midst, 
and was higher than any other summit except that of the 
Serapeum, I could survey the whole city. I saw the two 
streets which intersected the whole place, — one going east 
and west, from the Gate of Canopus to the Gate of the 
Necropolis ; and the other north and south, from the Gate 
of the Sun opposite the mole to the Gate of- the Moon near 



82 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Lake Mareotis. Near me, as I stood, on the west, rose the 
square fortress of red Egyptian stone, with towers at each 
of the four corners, which surrounded and defended the 
Temple of Serapis. This temple, called the Serapeum, one 
of the wonders of the world, soared upward to a great 
height. It was supported on arches below ; and a stairway 
of a hundred steps led up to the portico above, through 
which one entered the central hall. From the middle of 
this hall ascended a lofty column, which could be seen by 
ships far out at sea. The Corinthian capital of this column 
was covered with gold, as were also the roofs of the porticos, 
and the ranges of columns which surrounded the temple. 
Within this temple were chambers for the priests and the 
sacrifices, and the great librarj^, only second to that of the 
Museum. The statue of Serapis, made of gold, silver, and 
marble, stood in a dark room, and could be seen only at cer- 
tain appointed hours, when the priests opened a window, and 
allowed the raj^s of the sun to kiss its lips, and light up its 
face. It was with a hesitating step that I went one day to 
see this splendid idol ; for I had been taught to worship a 
God not made with hands. I knew, indeed, that an idol is 
nothing ; and yet I felt sinfut in going into its temple. The 
Greeks worshipped it as Jupiter, and said it was like their 
Zeus, who was at Olympia. The Egyptians worshipped it 
as Osiris, whose scattered limbs the sad Isis sought to col- 
lect in all lands. And this Serapis was thought to protect 
mariners, and was the patron of merchants, and so was the 
protecting deity of this great cit}^ of traders. 

Beyond the Serapeum, on the west, as I stood on the high 
top of the Paneum, I saw the Necropolis, or city of the 
dead, filled with many monuments. To the north were 
the ships crowded in the smaller harbor of Eunostus. But 
toward the north-east was the most glorious part of the 
city. The tomb of Arsinoe was near me, just under the 
Paneum. Before it stood an obelisk eighty cubits high, 



I 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 83 

which the queen's husband, Ptolemy Philadelphus, had 
caused to be brought down the Nile from the quarry, and 
set up here. Farther away was an amphitheatre, and beyond 
it the tomb of Alexander the Great, to which the body of 
the conqueror was brought in a long procession from the 
centre of Persia. I looked at it with awe, and said, " Here 
lies that heart once unresting, but now so still, — a heart that 
the conquest of the world could not satisfy. He needs only 
this little spot of earth now. Yet all I see around me is his 
monument ; for it was his mind which planned and created 
this wonderful city." Beyond the tomb (the Greeks called 
it, not the tomb, but the body ; for the body was more than 
the tomb) stood the palaces built by the different kings. 
They all joined each other, and also were connected by lofty 
porticos with the Museum, so named because in this place all 
the Muses had their home. This was founded by the wise 
Ptolemy, son of Lagus, chief captain, and friend of Alex- 
ander. Here he collected a library of Greek literature. To 
this place he invited scholars ^ artists, poets, men of all knowl- 
edge. In this great building he gave them a home. They 
dined together in the hall every day, surrounded by books, 
and in this hall they lectured, one by one, from morning till 
evening. In chambers around the hall sat the copyists, copy- 
ing the manuscripts. All students were made welcome here, 
either to read, or to take copies of the manuscripts. In this 
library were all the rolls which had belonged to the great Aris- 
totle, some in his#own handwriting. These were the books. 
he left to Theophrastus. But vast numbers had been de- 
stroyed by fire when Caesar took the city ; yet the Museum 
was rebuilt, and the Roman Antony brought another library 
from Pergamos, and gave it to Cleopatra. Part of this 
library was placed in the Serapeum, and a part in the new 
museum. All these buildings, and many more, I saw from 
the roof of the Paneum. Away to the east I beheld where 
the Nile entered the sea by the Canopus mouth, and behind 



84 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

me rushed up on the shore the waves of the Lake Marcotis. 
A million of people swarmed in the streets, and merchants 
from all the world came to these markets to sell and bu3\ 

I found my kinsmen, the Jews, very numerous in Alexan- 
dria, occupjnng two wards out of five in the cit}". The}" 
were engaged in trade, were prosperous, and had full liberty 
to worship the God of their fathers in their own way. I 
knew that the Jews in Egypt had a temple which was imi- 
tated from the temple at Jerusalem ; but I had been taught 
to believe that this was an abomination, as there ought to be 
only one temple for our whole nation wherein to offer up 
its worship. This temple was in the city of On, near Menj- 
phis, and had been given to Onias the Jewish priest by 
Ptolemy Philometor. It was an old Egyptian shrine, re- 
built by Onias, — perhaps that of which Joseph's father-in- 
law, Potiphera, was priest and prince. And this city of 
On was built by the Hebrews for Pharaoh. This place, 
therefore, was selected by Onias for a temple, because 
Joseph lived there, and the place itself had been built by the 
labors of our nation. Moreover, the old Egyptian shrine, 
which was thus turned into a Jewish temple, had from the 
beoinnins: belong-ed to the one true God, unseen and 
almighty ; for such a God did those kings of Lower Egypt 
worship. These were the kings who knew Joseph, and who 
avoided idols. 

After I had satisfied my curiosity by going through this 
.great city, and had looked at its wonders, I asked my 
uncle if he knew a philosopher named Philo, a Jew. " Cer- 
tainly I know him," he replied ; '' for he is one of our chief 
men. He is the brother of Alexander, president of our 
colony. Alexander is one of the richest men, a dealer in 
money, and a friend of the Herods. Knowest thou not that 
Alexander sent the gold with which nine of the doors of the 
temple at Jerusalem are plated? His brother, our great 
philosopher, lives in a part of his house. If thou dost wish 
to meet him, I will show thee the way." 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 85 

When we reached the house, I followed my uncle into a 
chamber, where, amid rolls of papyrus piled around his seat, 
so that he could easil}^ reach them, sat a man of middle age, 
whose hair had fallen away from his broad forehead. He 
had a long gray beard, and his eyes were large and dark, 
and full of thought. When I gave him the letter from 
Rabbi Gamaliel, he examined the seal, and said, "I know 
his signet. He is a wise and good man." Having cut the 
silk fastening, he unrolled the parchment, and read it, and 
said to me, " Rabbi Gamaliel hath commended thee to me as 
a youth seeking the truth, and of a free and honest mind. I 
have a hall in this house, built for me by my brother, where 
I lecture every day at sunrise. If thou wilt come and 
listen, thou shalt be welcome. But sit on this couch, and I 
will tell thee what we seek." 

Then I sat ; and Philo continued : — 

" Thou seest this vast city, to which merchants resort from 
every land to exchange their merchandise, each bringing that 
of which his people have a superfluity, and taking away that 
in which their nation is deficient. Such is the meaning of 
commerce. But what the merchants of this city do for the 
bodily wants of men, the scholars of this place do for their 
souls. We exchange with each other clothing for the mind, 
food for the soul. The Greeks bring the truths taught 
them by Plato and Aristotle, the beautiful works of their 
poets, their learned histories of nations, their accounts of 
every thing which the Lord God has created in this outward 
world. And we bring his holy law given to Moses, his 
sacred hymns sung by David, the wisdom of Solomon, and 
the inspiration of the prophets. Thus are we merchants of 
the soul. 

Thomas. — " This is a great work, rabbi, if, indeed, these 
Greeks and Romans have any true knowledge. But how can 
they have any, while they worship idols of stone, wood, and 
silver? Much less, as it seems to me, can the Egyptians 



86 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

give US any true knowledge ; for they worship monsters with 
the heads of rams and eagles." 

Philo. — " That they worship idols is their folly and their 
sin. Yet God has given to all men something good, and 
left something wanting, that each, by giving and receiving, 
may live in friendship with his neighbor. It is the part of 
wisdom, therefore, to know what others have which we have 
not, and what we have that others need. Then the com- 
merce of the mind begins. Thus we give to the Greeks the 
knowledge of the true God, sovereign ruler of all things, 
and they give to us their poetry and wisdom. For Greece 
is the only country which produces man, that heavenly plant, 
that divine offshoot. The Greeks alone possess that kind 
of accurate and refined reason which searches after knowl- 
edge. This is because God has given to them a dry soil, 
and an air full of lightness. The}" have given us Plato, of 
all writers the most sweet ; they have taught us astronom}', 
the queen of all knowledges ; they send to us Aristotle, who 
has a knowledge in some sense holy, so great is it. Then 
the Poman world is ruled b}" admirable laws, and all its parts 
are kept in great harmony, from the rising to the setting 
sun ; from the Euphrates its eastern boundary, to the Phine 
which bridles the Germans. Thus we can learn from Pome 
how nations may be brought into unity, and kept in peace. 
But come, my son, thou shalt hear more of this hereafter. 
If thou wilt, thou shalt come to my lectures ; for I lecture in 
this house." 

Then I thanked him, and promised to come, and listen to 
his teaching, and be very attentive ; since for this I had come 
to Alexandreia. 

The next day I began to visit these lectures with many 
other students. On that day Philo taught us concerning cre- 
ation, as described by Moses in the Book of Beginnings. 

Till this time I had believed, as I had been taught, in the 
letter of the books of Moses. I believed that God created the 



I 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 8/ 

heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh. 
But Philo, after reading tliese words, spake thus : — 

' ' It would be a proof of great simplicity to believe that 
the world was created in six days, or in any length of time. 
For what is time ? Is it not that which is measured by the 
movements of the sun, causing day and night, and the sea- 
sons, and years? How, then, could there be .days before 
there was any si*n ? or any time at all ? By ' six days ' 
Moses means to use six as a perfect number ; for it in- 
cludes unity and plurality, that which is odd and that which 
is even, matter divided and matter indivisible, solid mat- 
ter and fluid. And finally it includes all motion ; since 
motion is in six directions. All mortal beings are thus 
measured by six. To create in six days means to create 
all mortal things, alive and dead. 

" Nor can we suppose," continued Philo, " that God really 
rested, or needed rest, or could rest, on the seventh day ; 
for God never ceases from making something. As it is the 
property of fire to burn, so is it the nature of God to create. 
He therefore rested on the seventh day from creating mortal 
beings, and began to create immortal and heavenly beings. 
Seven is a divine number, since all nature delights in the 
number seven. There are seven planets, and seven stars in 
the bear. The moon has seven motions ; there are seven pe- 
riods of human life, and seven vowels. A lyre has seven 
tones. There are seven tones to the voice ; and we have 
other such examples. This is what is meant by God's bless- 
ing the seventh day. 

"We are not, then, to remain in the mere words of the 
Scriptures. There is a much holier meaning in them than 
is in the letters. There is a divine spirit in the Scriptures 
which alone is of value. Of this I will give you some 
further examples to show that Scripture is like a fountain, 
from which having taken one draught, many more may be 
taken. The first draught is the outward fact; the second 



88 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

IS the symbolic meaning ; the third is the spiritual meaning ; 
and the fourth is the mj^stical meaning. The common man 
remains in the outside meaning of Scripture ; one who goes 
deeper sees the allegorical meaning ; by going still deeper, 
we come to the spiritual meaning ; and finally some few 
arrive at the most interior sense of all, which is the mystical 
meaning. This last can be known, but cannot be told to 
another. And, for this, preparation of .the soul is also 
necessary, by retirement into solitude, fasting and prayer. 
By some, this mystical sense is also called the Kabbala. 

"But now, my children, we will speak of the symbolic 
sense of Scripture ; that is, the allegory. 

" You read in Scripture of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, 
and 3^ou think of them as three men. They are so accord- 
ing to the outward sense ; but in reality they are three vir- 
tues, or three graces. Abraham signifies divine wisdom, 
or piety. Abraham's going out from his ov>n country is 
leaving natural pleasure for divine joys. Sarah the wife is, 
allegorically, virtue. The King of Egypt who wished to 
take her from her husband is earthly wisdom, which would 
divorce morals from piety, and make it useful only for this 
world. Isaac is a name which signifies laughter ; but this 
is not childish mirth, but a settled happiness of the soul. 
The wise man offers this as a sacrifice to God, being willing 
to give up his happiness in order to fulfil God's will. But, 
when he does this, he finds his happiness again, as Isaac 
was restored to Abraham. Jacob is the prudence which 
struggles against the senses, and at last conquers them, and 
then it sees God, and is called Israel. 

"Thus you see, my children, how much more beautiful 
the Scriptures become, and how much more useful in build- 
ing up our soul, when we seek for their inward sense. What 
doth it profit us to know that there was a man called Abra- 
ham, and nnother named Isaac? But to meditate on these 
names as signif3'ing virtue — this elevates the soul. 



I GO TO ALEX ANDREI A, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 89 

" Moreover, there are many things in Scripture, which, 
according to the natural sense, are opposed to common rea- 
son and right judgment, and offend the mind of the Greeks, 
being a stumbling-stone by which they fall. These things 
cause them to reject our great doctrine of the oneness of 
God, and of spiritual worship. They are like children who 
have found a nut, the shell of which is too hard for them to 
crack with their teeth, and so they throw the nut away. But 
we, by our system of allegories, crack the shell, and throw 
it away, and eat the wholesome meat within. 

" Consider again the story of Adam and Eve in paradise, 
the serpent, and the eating of the tree of knowledge. If 
you read this to a wise Greek, he immediately says, ' How 
can you believe such foolish stories ? Does God plant gar- 
dens, and walk in them ? Do serpents talk to men ? Does an 
almighty God, full of good-will, punish his creatures for 
eating the very fruit he himself has put in their way ? ' Thus 
the story is a rock of offence, and blocks the waJ^ and keeps 
many from believing in the only true and living God. 

"But, when we explain it as an allegory, all is simple. 
Adam, which means earth, is the earthly mind in us, which is 
first awakened by visible and earthly things. It gives names 
to them ; that is, it studies their natures. Adam's wife 
is Eve, which means life ; for all things become alive by the 
action of the natural mind. And thus Eve proceeds from 
Adam. 

" When we read that God planted a paradise in Eden, let 
no such impiety occupy our thoughts as to suppose that God 
cultivates the land, as though to make for himself a garden. 
Let no such fabulous nonsense enter our mind ; for God 
dwells in no one place, but is a place to himself. To plant a 
paradise means to sow the seeds of virtue in the human 
soul, and to educate the soul by favorable influences. Virtue 
is symbolically a paradise, and Eden means enjoyment. A 
paradise planted in Eden is the innocence of childhood, which 



90 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYiMUS. 

dwells in joy. In the midst of the paradise God plants the 
tree of life. This is a wonderful allegory ; for it teaches us 
that man is by nature immortal, and would never die if he 
continued to live in paradise ; that is, in vu'tue. For sin 
corrupts the body as well as the soul. There are also four 
rivers in paradise, which go out of it in four directions. 
These four rivers are prudence, temperance, courage, and 
justice. And all go forth from Eden to water paradise ; that 
is, the heart which is full of joy, and is satisfied, has these 
virtues ; and these virtues feed and support all virtue. 

" Then we read that the Lord God takes the man he has 
made (that is, the higher and purer mind), and causes him 
to guard the virtues. He tells him he may eat of every 
tree in paradise ; that is, of all virtues. But, since he must 
not eat of the tree of knowledge, it is evident that this is 
not in paradise. If he eats it, he must die the death ; that 
is, he must go out of paradise in order to eat it, and thus 
die to the life of virtue. But who is ' the serpent ' who 
beguiles the woman? It is the pleasure of sense, which 
always tempts the woman in man, that is, desire ;. and desire 
tempts Adam, that is, wisdom. But the pleasures of sense 
are cunning, like the serpent, not wise, like the man. This 
is, then, the allegory hidden within this story of Eden." 

Then I asked him this question : " If , teacher ! the 
literal history is the shell, and the inner meaning the kernel, 
and if only the kernel is essential, need those who have 
reached the kernel follow the ceremonies and scripture of 
the Jews ? ' ' 

He answered, " Yes ; since the Jewish institutions are the 
appointed plan ordained by God to teach his truth. It is 
not safe, therefore, to neglect them. Just so, when thou 
art travelling in an unknown country, it is not safe to leave 
the main road, nor to try a shorter way through the woods." 

I did not answer; but I thought to mj'self, ''Either our 
Jewish sj'stem of sacrifices, circumcision, festivals, and 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 91 

scripture, is essential, or it is not essential. Our teacher 
says only the inward part, which is symbolized by this, is 
essential. But then why should I, having once found the 
inward truth, go back, and go over again forever the steps 
which lead to it ? " 

On another day I heard Philo lecture on the creation of 
the world. And again he took the Book of Beginnings 
of Moses, and read from it how in the beginning God 
created the heavens and the earth. He said, that, before he 
created the visible heavens and earth, he created their types 
or ideas in an invisible heavens and an unseen earth. And 
all that we see as sky and earth and water, beasts, birds, 
fishes, men, had incorporeal forms, which were created at 
first, and then had their home in the divine reason. These 
were made the archetype and model of the world ; for all 
things must exist forever in the divine mind, which are to be 
created afterwards in time and space, since God, being infi- 
nite, sees all things from the beginning. These divine ideas 
are the living powers which continually create anew the 
outward world according to an eternal law. The eternal law 
of the everlasting God is the strong and lasting support of 
the universe. This law extends from the centre of the 
world to its extremities, and, again, back from the extremi- 
ties to the centre. Thus it works in the unwearied and 
irresistible course of nature, uniting and binding together 
all parts of the universe. This has the Father of all consti- 
tuted as the indissoluble bond of the creation. "All this," 
said Philo, "was intended by Moses, when he said, 'In the 
beginning God created the heavens and the earth ; and the 
earth was invisible, and without solidity; and darkness cc^r- 
ered the abyss of being.' Thus he describes the creation of 
the world of ideas, the invisible archetypes of things seen." 

Then Philo continued to teach us that God, the most 
perfect being, can by no means come into contact with 
matter and visible things ; but he employs as instruments 



92 THi: LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

his ideas, which ever surround him, and are his ministering 
spirits. These sometimes appear to men, and are called 
angels. 

"The highest of these," said Philo, "is 'the Word,' or 
''Logos.'' All the ideas live in the Logos, as the plan of a 
city is in the soul of the architect. There is a logos also in 
the soul of man, and of a twofold kind. There is the in- 
ward thought, and the uttered word which flows from it. So 
in the mind of God there is the inward logos, or reason, 
which is the world of ideas, and the expressed logos, or 
word which goes out into the visible creation ; as when God 
says, ' Let there be light,' and light came. All this Moses 
taught when he said, ' God created man in his own image, in 
the image of God created he him ; male and female created 
he them.' For that which is true of man must also be true of 
the whole universe." 

AVhile I listened to these and the like teachings of Philo, 
I for a time was greatly pleased. He told us how Hesiod 
and Plato and Aristotle had borrowed these truths from 
Moses, who lived long before them. But, as I became more 
fond of these studies, I found my old joy in the Jewish 
scriptures gradually leaving me. Philo explained them as 
having the same meaning as that which Plato taught ; j^et it 
seemed to me that Plato had taught these truths more plainly 
than Moses ; and, indeed, if he had not taught them thus, 
we should never have known that they were taught by Moses. 

Thus there grew up in my mind a strong desire to learn 
the wisdom of the Greeks, and to study then- books, from 
which Philo often quoted beautiful passages. When I told 
him my wish, he said, " Go, my son, to the museum, and 
there thou shalt hear all these Greek writings read aloud, 
and thou canst see how much loftier are the words of our 
own prophets." 

The museum, as I have said, stood in the centre of the 
city, in the quarter called Bruchium. There were shady 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 93 

porticos, where the philosophers walked, and discoursed with 
their disciples ; gardens with statues, and seats under the 
wide-spreading trees. There was a large hall in the centre 
of the building, where the men of learning, scholars, and 
teachers took their daily meal, provided for them by the 
royal treasury. Here, also, were rooms where they slept. 
And around the hall, which was open to the sky in the 
centre, were long porches where were kept the rolls of books. 
In these porches sat students reading the books, and scribes 
copying them on rolls of papyrus manufactured in the city, 
or on parchment from Pergamos. The attendants went to 
and fro, carrying the rolls to those who demanded them, or 
returning them again to the shelves. 

There were also in the museum smaller halls, in which 
lectures were given on Homer, or Plato, or the Greek trage- 
dies, and other writers. First I went to a course of lec- 
tures on the history of the museum itself, given by the 
librarian, Cheremon, who was so eminent a scholar as to be 
selected by the Emperor Tiberius as the tutor of his nephew. 
I was glad to hear these lectures ; for I desired to learn how 
such a great institution of learning had grown up. I will 
therefore insert here what I wrote down at the time in my 
tablets. 

NOTES OF LECTURES BY CHEREMON, DIRECTOR OF THE 
MUSEUM AT ALEXANDRIA. 

I SHALL tell you in these lectures of the origin and history of 
this museum, which, as the name shows, is dedicated to all the 
Muses. 

This museum was founded by Ptolemy Lagus, first Greek king 
of Egypt, and one of the chief generals of Alexander. After 
the death of that hero, Ptolemy selected Egypt for his portion. 
Whether, as most men thought, Ptolemy was really the brother of 
Alexander, or not, he resembled him in his genius. He chose 
Egypt as his province, and chose wisely. It was wealthy and 



94 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

populous, and far removed from the rest of Alexander's kingdom. 
Here he could govern independently, till he should become really 
independent. He brought the body of Alexander and buried it in 
the Soma, which is close to us. He governed Egypt with justice, 
under good laws, and Alexandreia was like a Greek democracy. 
All the citizens met in the gymnasium to discuss and vote on pub- 
lic questions. The Greeks lived together in this city, leaving the 
rest of Egypt under its own customs and its native governors. 
Thus all were satisfied and happy. 

This great city of Alexandreia, begun by order of Alexander, 
was finished by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, his successor, three hun- 
dred years ago. He it was who joined Pharos to the mainland 
by the long mole, who built the large docks for ships-of-war, the 
emporium for merchants, and other great buildings around us. 
And it was his wise mind which founded this museum, with its 
halls and porticos, its gardens and library. He appointed an 
income from the royal treasury to pay the professors and to sup- 
port them. He himself was a writer of no small repute. The 
palace of Ptolemy was in another part of this building. Beside 
the public table which he maintained, he often invited scliolars 
and artists to dine at his own table, and talked with them like a 
friend and comrade. One of his guests was Euclid, who taught 
geometry in the museum. It is said that the king once asked 
him if he could teach him geometry in some easier way than that 
by which he taught his other pupils. Euclid answered that there 
w^as no royal road to geometry. Ptolemy also invited Stilpo, a 
famous philosopher, to come from Athens to visit him, and Theo- 
pompus the historian, and Erasistratus, founder of anatomy. 
This was he who first dissected human bodies in the surgical 
department of this museum. This was hateful to many, to Mhom 
the dead body of man was sacred; yet the surgeons persevered, 
and became acquainted with the organs of the human body. 

Ptolemy, our founder, was a plain man in his manners, without 
luxury or ostentation. He called himself only Ptolemy the ^lace- 
donian. He was ready in his answers. Once, when marching, 
his soldiers found an anchor, and they said it was an omen teach- 
ing that they must stop, and go no farther. But Ptolemy said, 
" An anchor is to keep us from drifting backward, not to keep us 
from going forward." 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 95 

His son Ptolemy Philadelphus carried on his father's work. 
He bought books for our library in Athens and in Rhodes, and 
among the rest the library of Aristotle. Zenedotus was his libra- 
rian, and he collected all the copies of the poems of Homer, com- 
paring them to find which was the most correct text. 

Mechanical machines were also devised in our museum for 
useful purposes. One of the inventors was Ctesibius, who dis- 
covered the water-clock. 

We also had in the museum at this time two great poets, Theo- 
critus and Callimachus. One wrote poems in which shepherds 
and country-people speak, and the other sang hymns to the gods. 
These made Alexandreia the chief place in the world for poetic 
renown. 

In our museum, also, great discoveries were made in astronomy. 
Thus we have catalogues of the stars, and their places in the 
heavens. Aristarchus, in the reign of Philadelphus, declared 
what seems impossible, — that the sun stands still, and the earth 
goes round it in a circle. He also declared another paradox, — that 
the earth's circle round the sun is so small, compared with the 
distance of the stars, that it is only like the size of the point at 
the centre of a circle to its distance from the circumference. Ara- 
tus also wrote in this reign his great poem on the stars, of which 
the Roman poet Ovid has said that it will be read as long as the 
sun and moon shall shine. 

It was by order of Philadelphus that Manetho wrote in this 
museum the history of Ancient Egypt. Here, too, in the theatre, 
the king ordered the rhetoricians to read aloud the works of 
Herodotus and Homer, and all the people were invited to hear 
them. He also decorated his palaces and the museum with paint- 
ings and statues. He was a friend to all races, and redeemed 
from slavery one hundred and twenty thousand Jews who were 
held in bondage in Egypt; he himself paying their ransom, of 
thirty shekels each, in Jewish money. He also caused the seventy 
learned Jews to translate into Greek the Jewish Scriptures, and 
gave them a home in the museum while they did this work. So 
much delight did he take in other nations, and even in their 
religions. 

On the death of his wife, Arsinoe, Philadelphus built the tomb 
which is now called the Arsinceum, and brought an obelisk eighty 



96 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

cubits high, from Upper Egypt, to set up before it, where it now 
stands. 

In the next reign, that of Ptolemy Euergetes, we had in our 
museum the great astronomer and geographer Eratosthenes. He 
first discovered how, by measuring the height of the sun, to fix the 
place of a city on the earth. He taught that the earth was round, 
like a ball, and found out how large was the circle that went 
round it. He also taught how far the sun's path in the sky was 
from the equator of the heavens. He was the keeper of our 
library during the reign of Philadelphus. 

After this reign, in the time of Ptolemy Philometer, we had 
here Hipparchus, mathematician and astronomer. He found the 
length of the year to be less than three hundred and sixty-five 
days and a quarter. He also discovered that the year, as meas- 
ured by the stars', is not the same as that measured by the seasons. 

And many other things did our director of the museum 
teach us concerning its history and its wise men. But this 
will suffice for the present. 

After hearing these lectures, I studied in other rooms, 
under other teachers, and a long time I devoted to reading 
the works of the Greeks, until the language became familiar 
to me. 

Having learned the language, I went to the Hall of 
Homer, and for many days listened to the rhapsodist who 
recited his verses. Then I spent much time in listening to a 
lecturer in the Hall of Plato. Thus the weeks passed, and 
the months, until I found I had been more than two years 
in Alexandreia. 

But at last a great weariness came over me. I seemed, 
after hearing all these teachings, to know nothing certainly. 
I had ceased to be sure of any thing. My childish trust was 
gone, and nothing had come to take its place. The teaching 
of Philo did not satisfy me ; for he seemed rather to have put 
the meaning of Plato into the Jewish Scripture than to 
have found it there. I had taken great delight in this phi- 
losophy of Plato as taught in the museum. But then there 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 97 

was a Hall of Aristotle, where a different doctrine was 
taught. There was a Hall of Zeno, where still another was 
explained and defended. And there was also a Hall of 
Epicurus, where we were told that the gods had nothing to 
do with this world. It was not the work of wisdom, but of 
chance. Innumerable atoms, falling blindly through space, 
had made the world. Only matter and force governed the 
universe ; and the best thing in life was to enjoy our httle 
day, for when it was over there was no hereafter. 

Tired out with a vain attempt to decide what was true 
among all these doctrines, I left the city one morning by 
the Gate of the Moon, and came to the beach washed by 
the waters of the great lake called Mareotis. Here I found 
a vessel about to cross the lake, and entered it. We could 
just see the high ground on the opposite shore. The Nile, 
being at its inundation, was pouring into the lake by nu- 
merous canals, and the waters swept us along in a strong 
current. After a while we reached islands, covered with 
vineyards, where the best Mareotic wine was made, which the 
patricians at Rome eagerly bought. Passing these islands, 
we approached, in some hours, the opposite shore, a strong 
northern breeze filling our sail. Landing, I found myself in 
a beautiful country, where the fig-tree and the vine were cul- 
tivated, with many other fruits. I longed for quiet, and I 
was on my way to the home of the healers, or therapeutm . 
They were so called because they could heal both the body 
and the soul by wise arts. They were men of my own race, 
Jews, who had retired from the world to live a life of prayer 
and contemplation. I said, " Here, perhaps, I shall find 
peace." 

When I reached the enclosure, within which were the 
houses of the therapeutoi, I was met at the gate by one 
dressed in white linen, who civilly asked me what I desired. 
I then handed to him the tablet given me by Philo, addressed 
to the president of the Society of Healers. The watcher of 



98 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the gate, having looked at it, called one of the elders, who 
led me to a hall. There they offered me a meal consisting 
of bread and water, salt and cresses ; for this was their only 
food. They then told me that I might enter their company 
as a novice, to remain with them until I foimd whether their 
mode of life suited me. 

They lived thus. Each had his own cell. They rose at 
break of day, and prayed at the rising of the sun. They 
asked that their souls might be filled with heavenly light. 
In the evening they prayed again, asking that their minds 
might be freed from earthly cares, and rest in the peace of 
God. During the day they divided the time between work- 
ing in the fields, studying the Scriptures, and reading the 
writings of wise men. The}" also composed and sang hj'mns 
to God in a great variety of measures. 

On the seventh day they came together, both men and 
w^omen, in a sacred assembly, and the men sat on one side, 
and the women on the other. An elder read, and then dis- 
coursed to them, not to delight their ears with rhetoric, but 
to penetrate the soul by the power of truth. 

After this assembly, they united for a common feast, still 
eating only bread, and full of cheerfulness. They had no 
slaves to minister to them, believing slavery to be contrary 
to nature ; but they served each other in turn, of their free 
will. And, after the feast, the}" passed the night in singing 
hymns, the choirs of men and women responding to each 
other, till the sun rose, when they separated, and returned to 
their homes. 

Admitted into this society, I remained there during some 
weeks. Day followed day, each like the other. I felt happy 
in following the direction of the superiors in the community, 
whether I was told to work in the field, to copy books on 
papyrus in the library, or to carry the produce of the farms to 
Alexandreia for sale. Day followed day in one long dream 
of quiet. I forgot my studies, my anxieties, my fears and 



I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 99 

hopes ; I forgot my home and friends. At last I aroused 
myself from this lethargy, and a wish came over me to go 
back to Palestine, and to my home. I left the therapeutce, 
crossed Lake Mareotis, taking ship in Alexandreia. Landing 
again at Csesarea, I followed the road which led me toward 
Galilee by the foot of Mount Carmel, through a portion of 
the fair vale of Sharon. 



100 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMU3. 



CHAPTER ^^:. 

THE FALL OF MIRIAM. I GO TO THE MONASTERIES OF THE 

ESSENES. 

So I went back to my home, and onee more stood on the 
summit which overhangs the lake of my love. It is said 
that men have in them a dark foreboding of the evil which 
is to come, as the dove in mid-heaven feels suddenly the 
shadow of the hawk thrown down on her from above. The 
wise men tell us that approaching sorrow is known, as the light- 
ning is known by the thunder, which, indeed, is the servant 
who follows one flash, but also the herald who goes before 
another. But I knew nothing of the woe before me, which 
was to change my life, kill my hope, and freeze my heart 
within me. 

The path which I took had carried me near the foot of 
Tabor. That fair mountain rose by itself from the plain, 
standing alone, like the altar of the land, to send the incense 
of its flowers up to God. I crossed brooks whose waters 
sparkled and leaped as they ran to join the River Kishon. I 
thought that these waters would, after a few hours, pass 
near the place where the host of Sisera was destroyed when 
the stars fought against him. I saw afar off the cliffs of 
Karmel, which I could reach in a three-hours' journey. They 
hung dark over the plain of Meggido, where the mighty f.ung 
away their shields. I thought how Barak, and Deborah by 
his side, went down with their ten thousand troops from their 
camp on the level summit of Tabor, to attack this mighty 
host, terrible with its multitude of war-chariots. Then I 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 101 

saw in my fancy the clouds gather black and lurid in the 
eastern sky, and the torrents of rain and hail driven by the 
storm beating in the faces of the heathen. Then Barak's 
host uttered its war-cry, and rushed on the foe through the 
glen of the mountains. And then I saw how there came to 
the idolaters another terror ; how the falling torrents of rain 
filled the brooks, and swelled Kishon to a raging flood. The 
river below and the heavens above fought on our side. The 
plain, where the vast army was collected with its chariots, 
was turned into soft clay and deep pools. The chariots sank 
down ; the waters roared around the warriors of Kanaan ; 
and the men of Zebulun and Naphthali thundered in the rear 
of the struggling multitude, until they threw away sword and 
shield, and fled toward their own hills. 

This picture came before me as I stood and looked, first 
at green Tabor on my right, rolling upward, like a vast wave 
of verdure, into the sky ; and, on the other side, gazing at 
the blue precipices of Karmel, beneath which rushed the 
torrent of " that ancient river, the River Kishon," — a river 
which was even then, fifteen centuries before my time, full of 
stories of past days. 

I bathed in these memories of the years of ancient time, 
when the boys of Israel were warriors, and the women were 
captains, and the men were like gods on earth. I plunged 
in my fancy deep into their past. So, out of the hot and 
dusty air of noon, the diver leaps into the lake, going down 
into the dark and cold waters below. Thus I refreshed my 
soul, thinking of what Israel had once been. 

In the plain before me a man walked, carrying his light 
plough on his shoulders, and goading his oxen occasionally 
with the pointed staff, as they moved lazily before him. 
*' Such are we now," I said, — "powerful like those oxen, 
which are strong enough to trample their driver to the earth ; 
but in our sloth we let ourselves be driven by a few Romans. 
Arc not we as able to win our rights as were our fathers ? 



102 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

They had been slaves for four hundred j^ears, — cowardly 
slaves, only half men. But fort}^ j^ears in the wilderness, 
moving from pasture to pasture in Arabia, living in tents, 
fighting the robber tribes, had made of them a race of 
heroes. Why are we worse than they, but that they had 
great leaders ? A single voice, the voice of Deborah, roused 
them from their sleep to battle and victory. And here be- 
fore me, beyond the path where this ploughman goes, in the 
valley, is the town called after Deborah, which has borne 
her name for more than a thousand 3^ears." 

Then in my mind I saw Deborah standing, that mighty 
woman, who from her distant home amid the inmunerable 
fountains of Mount Ephraim, from her tent under a great 
oak, sent messengers to Barak, the Son of Lightning, saying, 
*' Arise, Barak, for the Lord will deliver Sisera and his host 
into thy hand." And Barak indeed refused to go, unless 
she, the mother in Israel, would go by his side. Men called 
her the Bee ; for she had honey for her friends, but a sting 
for her enemies. Her Song of Triumph sounded in my ears, 
and I repeated it as I looked at the places where she had 
been ; for the place brought back to my mind, unconsciously, 
the song : and I repeated, before I understood why I was 
saying it, the Song of Triumph : — 

" For the leaders of Israel, 
For the people who willingly offered themselves, 
Praise be to the Lord. 

" In the days of Shamgar, in the days of Jael, 
The highways were deserted, and the travellers walked by moun- 
tain-paths ; 
The inhabitants ceased from the villages. 

*' Then I arose, Deborah, a mother in Israel, 
For my people had chosen new gods, 
And there was no peace in the land ; 

And among forty thousand men of Israel not one had a shield or 
spear. 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 103 

" Awake, awake, Deborah ! 
Awake, awake, and sing ! 
Arise, Barak, and lead captivity captive. 

" Kings came and fought, — 
Kings of Kanaan by the waters of Megiddo ; 
But they carried away no spoil. 

" For the heavens fought against them ; 
The stars in their courses fought against Sisera ; 
The lliver of Kishon swept them away, — 
That ancient river, the River of Kishon. 

" Trample down their strength, O my soul ! 

The horses trampled down each other, 
. And all their mighty men were crushed in the plunging, and the 
plunging." 

So I walked forward, repeating the words of this ancicDt 
song; and I said, ''Is there no Deborah to-day to say to 
some Barak, 'Arise'?" Then Miriam came to my mind, 
as strong, as proud, as majestic in her womanly beauty, as 
full of the high fire of the spirit, as Deborah herself could 
have been. I was no hero like Barak ; but I thought, if 
Miriam called me, I should have the soul of ten men within 
me to go against the Roman locusts ; and surely, like Barak, 
I should say, " If thou wilt go with me, then I will go ; but, 
if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." And I saw 
myself in the midst of my army, two tents side by side, — 
the tent of Miriam near my own, and the children of Israel 
led against the enemy. The stars and the heavens, storms 
and lightning, the terror that walketh in darkness, and the 
destruction that wasteth at noonday, should baffle and defeat 
the foe, till our land, our holy land, should be once again 
our own ; and then, when the land was at rest, Miriam 
might be mine. 

Feeding my soul with such hopes, I at last reached the 



104 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

summit which divided the waters runniug into the lake from 
those which ran to the sea. Once more our dear lake lay 
before me in its peaceful mood ; the long shadows of the 
hills resting on its bosom, the white sails motionless on its 
blue surface, the snowy top of Hermon to the north, the 
black wall of Moab on the east. 

Passing down, I approached two men who were talking 
aloud. One said, '-Miriam can do with the king as she 
will. The}' say her beauty has made him mad." 

•"' Of whom do you speak? " said I, sudden terror clutch- 
ing at m}^ breast. 

''Of Miriam of Migdol," he answered. "Know 3'ou not 
that she is in the palace of Herod, and is his favorite wife? " 

I turned icy cold, and staggered, as if struck with an arrow. 
" How can that be? " I muttered. 

"It is strange, indeed," replied they. "All that is 
known is, that she disappeared from her home many weeks 
since. Lately she has been seen by the side of Herod, in 
his chariot, after the fashion of the Romans, covered with 
jewels and bracelets of gold. And men say that the king is 
frantic with the love of the maiden." 

Thus speaking, the men turned into a side-path, and left 
me. I stumbled onward for a few steps, and then sank on 
the ground. 

There was the lake as before, sparkling in the sun, or 
sleeping in the shadows ; but how were all things changed 
to me ! God seemed to have left the world, and gone away. 
All life had departed from sky and land, and it was empty. 

I sat on the ground in a stupor. At last my mind began 
to recover. I cried, " It is false ! It is a lie, told by the 
father of lies. Not Miriam, not my Miriam ! No, it cannot 
be ! Why should I believe this ? Would she believe it of 
me, if she were told I had become a thief or a liar? No! 
It is false, and I will find out what it means." 

New life came back to me. My blood rushed through my 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 105 

veins, and I leaped down the steep path, and did not stop till 
I reached my mother's home. She heard my step, and came 
forth, looked at me, and saw the pale despair on my cheek, 
and the hungry, asking look in my eyes, and, putting her 
arms around my neck, said, "Yes, Thomas, it is true. 
Miriam has fallen away from her God and her people." 

So saying, she led me into the house, and I laid my head 
on her shoulder, and wept long. 

At last 1 rose, and said, " Only from her own mouth will 
I believe it. I go to the city of Herod, and will see her." 

My mother sought to prevent me, fearing the jealousy 
of the king ; but, seeing that nothing else would satisfy 
my mind, she said, "Go, my son ! and may the God of 
Israel give you a power and language to bring back this 
daughter of disaster to her old faith ! ' ' 

Then I went speedily, not thinking beforehand what to do 
or to say, but believing that the God of my fathers must 
help me to save this pearl of price from utter ruin, such 
hope mixed itself with the bitterness of my soul. " Not for 
myself," I cried, — "let her be henceforward nothing to 
me, — but for her own sake, and her father's house, and for 
the sake of our people, help me to save her, O my God 1 " 

A Roman soldier in armor stood in the gateway of Tiberias, 
in the shadow of a lofty palm. As I passed him, he looked 
at me, but said nothing. The street I entered was straight, 
wide, and long, and on eitlier side rose palaces of white 
marble. Along the sides of the streets were palms, and in 
the middle were fountains fed from the hot-springs a little 
way off. The streets were full of people coming from many 
lands, — from Damascus, men with baskets full of costly 
raiment woven on the looms of the East ; from Arabia, men 
bearing boxes of frankincense and rich spices ; there were 
singing-boys, black as the night, from India ; and merchants 
of Tyre, who trade in all the works of man in all the earth. 

I passed through these crowds till I saw a man of Galilee 



106 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

whom I had known ; and I asked him, " Where is the palace 
of the king?" He pointed to a marble building opposite, 
built of large stones, with columns in front of red porphyr3\ 
The gate into the inner court was open ; and the Galilean 
said to me, " Stand here with me, and see Herod and his 
officers ; for they will presently come forth." 

Then there came from the court the sound of flutes and 
horns, with the clang of cymbals. Directly a body of 
soldiers appeared, with helmets, large shields ornamented 
with gold, and spears whose handles were surrounded with 
rings of solid silver. Behind them I saw approaching the 
chariot of Herod, drawn by four white horses. It was cir- 
cular, and I looked in fear to see if Miriam was by his side. 
But he was alone ; and when the procession had passed out, 
and the gates were closed, I was confused, not knowing what 
to do. 

Directly the gates opened again ; and there issued forth 
another troop of men and women, on foot, with robes flow- 
ing to the breeze, following after Herod, but some distance 
behind. And, as they passed, one turned, and looked me 
full in the face, and I seemed to receive a blow. Was that 
my Miriam ? All the splendid beauty was there ; but how 
hard, how cold, was the look which met mine ! She turned, 
and spoke a few words to an attendant, who directly fell 
behind, and, leaving the procession, came to me, and said, 
'' My mistress will see thee to-night. Be at the gate of the 
palace after dark." 

When night came, I went to the place as if moved by no 
will of my own, but forced on by some blind necessity. I 
was led into a room of the palace lighted by a tall candle- 
stick from which hung four lamps. A cm-tain moved, and 
Miriam stood before me. She looked at me long ; and, as I 
stood silent, she said in a hard and hollow voice, — 

" Speak, Thomas ; ask me if it is true. Say all thou pjjeas- 
est. Reproach me to the utmost. I know that I am a 'by- 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 107 

word and a hissing to my people. Yes, I am Herod's wife, 
one of them. I am a queen, Thomas ! Didst thou ever see 
a queen before? Look at me, and see what a proud and 
happy woman a queen among the Eomans may be ! " And 
she laughed aloud, — not her old bird-like laugh, but a laugh 
in which was no joy, but derision and contempt. 

I still stood silent ; for all the thoughts I had in my mind 
were gone in this great misery. 

She spoke again: "Sit on this seat, and I will tell thee 
all. Thou hast a right to know what I am and what I may 
become. 

" Thomas, I seem to myself to be driven by furies. The 
first demons who took possession of me were pride and am- 
bition. I was proud of my mind and my knowledge : I am 
proud of them still. Have I not a right? Who like myself 
can see through men, and read them like an open scroll? 
Who can bend them to her will, and make them come and 
go, as I ? I have power over souls : I move them by their 
secret wishes, which are no secret to me. 

" Having such power, why was I not a man? Is there any 
Agrippa or Herod of them all who could have made friends 
and wealth in the imperial court at Rome like me? I could 
move the Senate by my speech. I could make my people a 
name, and win for them their rights. 

" But I am a woman ; and therefore all this must be shut 
into my breast, and my powers can be of no use to any one. 
Do not the Pharisees say, ' Let not a woman learn beyond 
her distaff ; let the tribute of the temple be destroyed, 
rather than the words of the law be given to a woman ' ? Do 
not they class us with servants and children, saying that 
' women, servants, and children are not bound to recite their 
phylacteries, or to wear them' ? But to a man they say, ' If 
thou dost pronounce the words of the phylacteries distinctly, 
exactly, and correctly, the shadow of death shall be cool to 
thee.' If a woman marries, cannot her husband divorce 



108 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

her for any cause, — if she spoils his broth, or if he finds any 
other person more beautiful than his wife ? A fool may be 
my husband ; and I, who know many times more than he 
ever dreamed, — am I to sit at home with my dist^? 

" No, Thomas, I will not submit to this. Since they allow 
no open way to the daughters of Israel, to whom God has 
given power, we will make one. They shall find that women 
can go forward when men hold back. The Roman power 
totters, and a woman shall give it the blow which will bring 
it down in ruin." 

" But thou art married to a Roman," said I. " Thou art 
the wife of a Roman." 

She saw the anguish in my eyes, and said more tenderly, 
"Do not grieve for that, Thomas. I did not marry him 
because I loved him." Then, suddenly changing, she whis- 
pered in my ear with a hissing sound like that of a serpent, 
"I married him because I hated him ; and I hate him now 
with all the hatred of my soul. It would be sweet to me to 
do to him as Jael did to Sisera, and as Judith did to Holo- 
f ernes." 

I looked at her, and shuddered at the fierce light in her 
eye. She seemed possessed by a demon of fury. I whis- 
pered also, and said, " Thou shalt do no murder." 

"Well," said she, "what is murder? Was it murder 
when Jael took a tent-nail, and drove it into the forehead of 
Sisera? He was her guest, guarded by the sacred rights of 
hospitality. He was at peace with her tribe. He was asleep, 
trusting to her care. She killed liim ; and Deborah has glo- 
rified her name, and said, 'Blessed above women be Jael.' 
If I should kill, would not some prophet say, ' Blessed among 
women is Miriam ' ? " 

"It cannot make a wrong thing right," answered I, " even 
to be blessed by a prophet." 

" In truth," said she, " that is also my belief. I have not 
now much faith in those old scriptures, which, we were 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 109 

taught, came from God. All nations have their sacred writ- 
ings. Why should we think ours more holy than the books 
of the Assyrians or the Egyptians ? Come to the reason of 
the matter. If a man is a tyrant and a murderer, it is right 
to kill him. Herod is black with crime, and she who slays 
him does a good deed." 

" Why, then, didst thou marry him? " 

" It was the work of Satan. I was tempted by a devil in 
the garb of a Pharisee. Dost thou remember Rabbi Ben 
Gamlah, that holy man, whom my father persuaded to be my 
teacher in all the wisdom of the Greeks and Romans ? How 
I reverenced that man ; for he seemed wise as an angel of 
light ! He taught me to read the books of the Greeks and 
the Romans ; but he taught me evil lessons, — lessons of 
contempt for every thing which was not either knowledge or 
power. He is a great man. He rules by his dark wisdom 
the company of the Pharisees, and they govern the Jewish 
people. Nothing is sacred to him which stands in the way 
of his purpose. He cares neither for God nor man, but only 
for the destruction of the Romans and the triumph of his 
party and people. He clothes himself in lies ; and he is so 
false, that he could cheat Gabriel, just come from the throne 
of God. He is a chief favorite with Herod, whom he flatters 
and deceives, and means to destroy. Without pity for my 
innocence, he determined to sacrifice me, soul and body, to 
his ends. He fed my ambition ; he encouraged my vanity 
and pride. He told me that all means were right which 
would lift up our nation. He tempted my love of luxury 
with the promise of splendor in Herod's court. I was to have 
jewels, slaves, chariots, a palace. I was to be a new Esther. 
But I resisted the serpent, though his poison ran into my 
veins. Then, one night, he agreed with Herod to have 
soldiers near by, and betrayed me into their hands. I was 
taken, a prisoner, to Herod's court. The king offered to 
make me his wife, or, if I refused, to compel me to marry 



110 THE LEGEm) OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

a deformed slave, a negro from Africa. Then the tempter 
came again ; and, when I cried to him for pity, he laughed 
at my tears, and told me, that if I would consent to be 
Herod's queen, all doors would be open to me, and the free- 
dom and power I longed for would be mine. So I yielded ; 
and here behold me, Thomas, a Roman queen." 

' ' And art thou happy ? " 

"Happy? No. lam the most miserable of women. I 
live in lies. I pretend to love Herod, 'and I hate him. The 
freedom I hoped for is not mine. I am envied and watched 
by so man}^ jealous eyes, that I am in perpetual bondage. I 
cannot pray to God ; for either there is no God, or he does 
not care for man. The gods are too far off. Thomas : they 
have their own matters to think of." So^he laughed again, 
a hard, cold, miserable laugh. 

''One hope is left me," she continued, "and that is re- 
venge. I shall be the destruction of Herod and his court. 
I am watching for my time. And it will come ; it will come. 
If only, like Samson. I can pull down this temple of idols on 
their head, and on my own too, I shall be happy. But go, 
Thomas. Thou wert my friend once, though thou canst not 
care for me now. When I saw thy face to-day, I deter- 
mined to meet thee, and tell thee my story, although this 
meeting of ours is at the risk of both our lives." 

Then my mouth was opened, and my heart enlarged. I, 
who found it so hard to tell my thought, spoke to Miriam 
with the tongue of men and of angels. I implored her to 
fly, to quit that evil place, to forsake that dreadful life, — to 
fly with me to Egypt, to Babylon, anywhere. I would be her 
brother, her friend ; I would watch for her, and help her. 
Other and better doors should be open. We would begin a 
new life. I thought I must convince her, and that she would 
then jield. so full of faith I was in what I said. 

She listened quietl}^ to my words, and then looked at me 
with a sadness so terrible, that tears gushed from my eyes. 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. Ill 

'' Too late, too late ! " said she. " I have shown thee some 
of the devils which possess me, but not the worst. Thou 
hast looked into my heart, and seen there six demons, — 
Pride, Ambition, Falsehood, Murder, Luxury, Unbelief. 
There is another, worse than all ; for he makes it impossible 
for me to drive out the rest. His name, the king of tb" 
devils, is Despair. I cannot believe, I cannot hope. My 
soul is dead, lying in its tomb ; and on the tombstone above 
me, which shuts me down, is written Despair." 

At this moment an attendant ran in, and whispered some 
thing. Miriam disappeared ; and the woman, seizing my 
hand, drew me through a dark passage to the street, pushed 
me out, and closed the door. I went through the street like 
oue stunned ; went out of the gate, walked by the shore 
of the lake, above which the moon was shining, making a 
tremulous highway of light over its water, and reached my 
mother's house. 

Struck down by this dreadful calamity, I fled again from 
my home. The sweet lake and its calm neighborhood had 
become hateful to me. I took my staff, and bade farewell 
to my mother, telling her that I must go away for a little 
space. And my mother blessed me, and told me not to for- 
get these two things, — first, that I should always have a 
mother's love, and, next, that I was a Jew, bound always 
to remember that I was a son of Abraham and a servant of 
Yahveh. And so I bade her farewell again, and left her 
with many tears. 

I thought now only to flee to some land where I should see 
no more any familiar face. I had supposed, before this event 
took place, that my faith had already gone ; but I found 
that there had remained one deep foundation-rock, which 
was now taken away also. I had before this time lost my 
belief in the religion of my country, and its long story had 
passed into emptiness and shadows. I had been like one 
who has looked at a great range of snowy mountains rising 



112 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

above the distant horizon in long ascending lines, up through 
vast moving sweeps of hills, into steep precipices of ice. 
All at once they begin to change, and fade away, and he 
sees that they are only clouds, misty exhalations from the 
soil. So had my faith passed into morning mist ; so Moses 
and the prophets, the heroic souls of saints and martyrs, had 
ceased to be real to me. I had ceased to believe in the God 
of my fathers : he had become one with the gods of the 
nations. I had thought my most sacred beliefs gone ; one 
only had remained, the most important, — faith in the reality 
of goodness, faith in human nobleness. On this founda- 
tion all the others had been built, and now this, also, 
was gone ; for my first aspirations after a higher life had 
been inspired by the soul of Miriam. ■ She had roused in me 
the conviction that man might rise above himself, and make 
himself a tower, like the pharos of Alexandreia, to cast light 
during centuries over the stormy ocean of human existence, — 
a hope and comfort for all shipwrecked souls. My faith in 
this vast possibility rested on my trust in Miriam. And now 
this, also, was gone. ''Cursed be those," I cried, "who 
show themselves to us as gods, and are in reality rotten 
within, who raise us so high only to cast us down again ! 
Let the robber of the wilderness take my life if he will ; 
let him drive his knife into my body — but these murder our 
souls. O Miriam ! thou hast killed all that was best in me — 
forever and forever. There is no such thing as goodness 
below or above." 

All my desire now was to go far away, and be alone. The 
sight of men was hateful to me. First I bethought myself 
of returning to Egypt, and making myself one of the thera- 
peutce with whom I had stayed before. But I remem- 
bered that I had been told of some anchorites of a severer 
sort, who lived in the wilderness of Engeddi, in the holes 
of the rocks and in the clefts of the ragged rocks. These 
were called Essenes. When I went to the therapeutoe, I 






THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 113 

was seeking peace : I no longer hoped to find peace ; I asked 
only for the torpor of forgetfulness. 

Therefore, taking my staff once more in my hand, I went 
wearily to Jerusalem on my way to this wilderness, which was 
on the west of the Dead Sea. From Jerusalem I travelled 
southward unto the ancient city of Hebron, one of the old- 
est cities known among men. After leaving Jerusalem, I 
ascended a rocky hill from the valley of Hinnom, and then 
walked over a long and cultivated plain, to where the ground 
began to rise again toward the city of David, which is Bethle- 
hem, the House of Bread. On the road I saw near me a 
small stone building, and of a shepherd near by asked the 
name thereof. "Art thou a stranger here? " said he, " and 
knowest not the tomb of Eachel, the wife of our father 
Jacob, and beloved mother of Joseph and Benjamin?" 
Then I remembered having read in the Book of Begin- 
nings, "And Eachel died, and was buried on the way to 
Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." There on my left rose 
the city of David ; and on these hills around me the young- 
David kept his father's flocks, and sang his hymn of praise 
to God, — 

" The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; " 

and here, close by the tomb of Rachel, when Samuel had 
anointed Saul to be king, Saul met the messengers sent by 
his father Kish to seek him. 

Crossing a rocky slope, I went down until I saw before 
me a lovely valley filled with vineyards and gardens. There 
grew the fig and almond, and the pomegranate ; and the 
waters murmured pleasantly down the hillside from three 
large tanks of stone, raised, one above the other, on the side 
of the hill. These I knew to be the pools built by Solyma 
to supply Jerusalem and the temple with water, by conduits 
of stone which ran underground. 

The overflow of these great square stone pools made all 



114 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the valley below like a garden. And at once came into my 
memory the words of the Preacher : "I made me gardens 
and orchards ; and I planted trees in them of all kinds of 
fruits ; I made me pools of water with which to water my 
trees and my gardens." And it was of this valley, also, that 
he spoke in his song; "Awake, O north wind, and come 
thou south, and blow on my garden, that its fragrance may 
be scattered abroad." Along this road on which I walked, 
came the great king every morning, with his horsemen and 
his court, riding out to see his gardens, and to pass the day 
in the cool shade with his queens. 

Passing on farther, the road once more ascended, now 
crossing rocky ravines, and then rising again. Around me 
grew the oaks, with old forests of terebinth, and orchards 
of olives. Along the hillsides were large terraces covered 
with grape-vines ; and the clusters of grapes surprised me by 
their size. Then I remembered that this was Eshkol, from 
which the spies carried the great clusters of grapes. And I 
seemed to be living in the days of old. 

And from thence I passed on till I came to Hebron, the 
city of Abraham. Before me it rose, seen in the distance 
over the trees and the vines which covered the rolling surface 
of the plain. Here, then, was the plain of Mamre, where 
Abraham first encamped with his tribe, and built an altar to 
the most High God. On the other side of that high ridge of 
hills Lot had gone down to dwell in the fertile valley near to 
the Sea of Death. Here Abraham sat in the door of his 
tent, and received the three angels who came to tell him of 
the destruction hanging over Sodom. From the top of that 
high ridge, behind Hebron, he looked down into the valley 
beyond, and saw the smoke going up from the cities of the . 
plain like the smoke of a furnace. Here, also, Sarah died, 
and Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah in which to bury 
her. And there before me stood the massive walls of the 
building which surrounds the cave. I went toward it, and 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 115 

asked to be admitted. I entered by a gateway, and was led to 
an opening in the rock, where, as it is said, still rest the 
remains of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives, and the 
body of Joseph. So, once again, the history of Israel, which 
seemed so dim to me, became real. 

From this ancient city of my fathers, I passed down, by 
the narrow valley of a torrent, toward the Dead Sea. Black 
rocks rose on either side ; above me swept the eagle in long 
circles, a moving spot on the deep blue sky. After a while, 
I saw the dark opening of a cave ; and the shepherd-boy 
who guided me said, ''This is the cave of Adullam, where 
David lived with his followers, when pursued by Saul. Here 
he remained, with his four hundred followers who had fled to 
him, pursued by debt or other trouble." The mouth of the 
cave was a black spot, high above the ravine, on the side of 
the great mountain. I climbed by a steep and narrow ledge 
along the rocks, where one man could resist a thousand. I 
entered the cave, into which some light came from the en- 
trance and from openings above. The passage to the cave 
was narrow, but led me into a large cavern ; so large that 
David and his four hundred men might have lived together, 
and had space and room. Out of this cavern dark pas- 
sages led to other underground halls and chambers. As I 
was about to enter one of them, a half- naked form came 
forth, and said, "Who art thou that dost disturb our si- 
lence?" I answered, "A man weary of the world, who 
seeks forgetfulness." Then he held out his hand, and said, 
" Then art thou a brother. Hast thou come to join the holy 
company of the Essenes?" I answered that I had thus 
come, but knew not that this was one of their abodes. " I 
am a hermit of Engcddi," he answered. "I and my breth- 
ren live in these caves. We will receive thee, if thou art 
sincere. But thou must be tried, as gold is tested, even by 
the fire of sharp discipline." And I answered, ''I am ready 
to endure it." 



116 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

" For the present, then," said the elder, after asking me 
further of mj^self, ^'thou shalt be under my charge, and 
sleep in this cave near to mine. But the first test to which I 
shall put thy purpose is obedience. I shall be thy director 
in all things. It is not for thee to answer or question me, 
but to obey. Thou must be like a staff in my hands. Canst 
thou bear this trial ? If not, go hence ; for this is not thy 
place." 

And I answered, ''Father, I am a man weary of myself. 
I have no will nor desire. Why should I not do as I am 
commanded? I am tired of freedom. Dost thou ask if I 
will be unto thine order as a staff? AVillingly would I be a 
dead body. Yet it seems the act of a coward, or a fool, to 
die by his own hand. — of a coward, for it is to flee before 
the enemy. Life is my enemy ; and, if I cannot conquer it, 
I will flee not from it. It is the act of a fool to take his own 
life ; for he goeth bhndly, he knoweth not whither or where- 
fore. Do thou command. I am ready to obey." 

The elder: "Listen, then, to our rules. Our company 
live in these caves, or in stone houses built in the secret 
recesses of these mountains. We and those called by the 
name of Pharisees once belonged to the same society, and 
together we sought holiness. We forsook the world ; and 
our law was, ' Touch not, taste not, handle not, any for- 
bidden thing.' But the Pharisees said, ' We need not leave 
the world, that we may be separate from it. We will 
surround ourselves with a wall, which shall encompass us 
M'hithersoever we go : we will have such rules, such cus- 
toms, and such a dress, that all shall see we are not of the 
world.' But we, the Essenes, think differently; for we 
believe that no one can live in the midst of disease, and not 
breathe thereof : therefore we say, ' Flee from it, and be 
alone.' They, the Pharisees, are the 'Separate Ones:' but 
we are the ' Solitary Ones.' " 

And he continued: ''In our community there are four 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 117 

classes. First, the class of novices, or beginners ; second, 
the class of experimenters ; third, the class of disciples ; 
fourth, the class of elders. During the first year thy place 
will be with the beginners. To-night thou shalt be initiated 
into that order, and receive thy instructions." 

And, when night had come, the members of the society 
came together in the large vaulted cavern, which was lighted 
with many torches. On one side sat the elders, clothed in 
white robes, which hid their whole body and almost all of 
their faces ; on their right sat the disciples, dressed in dark 
robes ; on their left, the initiated of the second and third 
year ; and on the fourth side stood the novices, with their 
hands on their mouths, as a token of silence and obedience. 

Then they called me forward into the midst, and demanded 
of me why I had come among them. I answered, " Because 
my desire is for silence, and rest of soul." Then the elders 
consulted ; and one said, " Brother, thou hast come to us for 
rest. We can give thee rest, but only as a reward for 
obedience. Art thou ready to take an oath to obey the rules 
of our order ? ' ' 

And I answered, "I am." 

Then the elder said, " Repeat after me the oath : — 

"I swear by the name of the living God, Maker of heaven and 
earth, and as I hope to be forgiven my sins, and to be with the 
blessed in paradise, to obey these rules : 
I will honor God in all things. 
^" I will be just to all men, and do wrong to none. 

"I will injure no man willingly, nor will I be led by others to 
injure any one. 

*' I will hate wickedness. 

"I will help all good men. 

"I will obey my superiors. 

"I will unmask liars. 

"These seven rules I will repeat morning and evening, and 
make it my purpose to keep them always."; 



tC 



118 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

When I had taken the oath, all those present cried out, 
"Amen and amen." 

Then the elder gave unto me an axe, an apron, and a 
white robe ; and he said, — 

"This axe which I give unto thee represents industry. 
Work is the key which opens the outer gate of heaven. It 
keeps the mind in content and peace. The apron represents 
obedience : it belongs to servants. The white robe repre- 
sents temperance and chastity. Remember, thou, these three 
duties, — work, obedience, purity." 

And I said, " I will remember them." 

Then I was placed under the control of a disciple, and 
told to take all my orders from him, and to do as he com- 
manded me in all things, even though what he commanded 
might seem unreasonable. 

And then all who were in the congregation sang a hymn, 
and the assembly was ended. 

During many months my days passed on in the same 
path. I arose earl3% and attended a meeting of the novices, 
presided over by a disciple, when hymns were sung, and 
prayers recited. I took my morning meal of bread, water, 
and herbs, and then spent the day in labor. Before sun- 
rise we were at work, and continued till after sunset, 
resting for a brief space in the heat of the dsxj. Some 
tended sheep ; some cultivated the fields, and raised grain ; 
some took care of the cattle in the plains below, near the 
Sea of Death ; some kept bees, and raised honey ; some 
took the products of the farms to Bethlehem or Jerusalem ; 
some made baskets, or mats, or boxes, or seats. Thus the 
day passed by. 

But by degrees I learned that all was not peace in our 
community. I heard of envyings and jealousies, even 
among the elders. Grave disputes often arose about what 
seemed to me trifles. Then I saw that by flying from the 



THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 119 

world one could not escape from one's self. We had taken 
with us into our solitude the same passions which we hoped 
to leave behind among men. 

I lived much alone during these months. During the 
middle of the day, when we rested, I sometimes read in the 
rolls which were preserved in one of the buildings of our 
order. It so chanced that I found the roll of the scripture 
which contained the sad book of Solyma, called "The 
Preacher." This book seemed to speak to my present state. 
It reflected my own despair. Here was one, who, like 
myself, had lost all faith ; to whom life seemed to have no 
purpose ; existence, no meaning ; to whom all things were 
emptiness and vanity. His gloom was more black than my 
own. I shuddered in reading these words of dreadful an- 
guish : "Therefore I hated life, because the works wrought 
under the sun were grievous unto me. Therefore I praised 
the dead more than those who were yet alive : yea, better 
than both are they who have never been born." 

I asked what was the meaning of this book of unbelief 
and despair, and why it was numbered with the sacred writ- 
ings of our people. None of the elders could give me any 
answer. They only said, " It was written by King Solyma." 

As I read this book, and read it again, I seemed to enter 
into the mind of the great king. He had received all the 
blessings of this world, — power, wealth, wisdom, — and they 
left his soul empty ; yet I saw every day, in the valleys 
beneath, simple shepherds or laborers who went home at 
night to peaceful rest, and on whose brow cheerfulness had 
its seat. Then I saw that man was not made to enjoy, but 
to labor. ' We are happy only when we are doing some- 
thing useful for others. Nor was man made to flee from 
the world, and so try to live alone with God,\ " God is no 
more here," I said, " than in the crowds of cities. If there 
be a God, and if, perchance, he careth for men, he careth also 
for those who live in society. But, if there be no God, then 



120 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

are we better to be with our fellowmen, so that we may seek 
to do them some good." 

Thus I grew by degrees to dislike this hard, cold, and 
unnatural life ; and, when my year of beginnings was over, 
I spake unto the elders, and told them that I should continue 
no longer in their community, but leave it. 

Life indeed had moved on like a tranquil stream ; and, as 
I look back to that period, I am thankful that I had that 
season of rest in the midst of my troubled days. But my 
heart began to weary of this sameness. I felt a desire to 
see my home again. I longed for the society of my fellow- 
men. I said, "God has not made us to be apart from our 
race. He said, when he created the mother of all living, 
' It is not good for the man to be alOne.' We grow selfish 
in solitude, even though it be a religious solitude. Men 
think only of saving their own souls, and forget that they 
should help to save the souls of others." Therefore I bade 
farewell to the elders, and thanked them for their hos- 
pitality. They blessed me, and bade me farewell with 
calmness, even as they had received me. To them all things 
were as one. And I became once more a wanderer, and 
took my way back unto Galilee. 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 121 



CHAPTER VII. 

I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 

The longing for my native land had again seized me. I 
wished to see once more the peaceful shores of the inland 
sea framed with hills, which, during the years of my suffer- 
ing and struggle, had been always sleeping peacefully, or 
only swept by an occasional gust. That, at least, would be 
the same, if all else had changed. I had lost my God, my 
faith, my hopes ; the fire of my youth was quenched, and 
in ashes ; my life was darkened by shadows which no sun 
could disperse. But Nature, at least, would remain the same, 
— sun, trees, snow-capped mountains, the sea broken into 
a million sparkles of light, the summer air, and the mem- 
ories of the past. And my heart yearned for my mother's 
love. It seemed that I might perhaps feel young again 
on the shores of Gennesaret. One morning I took my staff 
in my hand, and departed, with a vague hope in m}^ 
mind. 

To travel on foot in a land like ours, and so by bodily 
exercise to keep down painful thoughts, brings contentment 
to the heart. Day after day I journeyed on, climbing along 
the summits of the hills when I could, or descending into 
the valleys where the fields of grain were quietly ripening 
in the sun. Sometimes, on the upland, I could catch a 
white gleam from the great sea of the west, or a glimpse 
of some snowy summit in the north, or of the great black 
mountain-wall of Moab on the east. Shepherds sat under 



122 • THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the trees, watching their flocks ; and once I heard one sing- 
ing the Psahn of David : — 

" The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want." 

I hastened away ; for I could not say, ' ' Amen ! ' ' Alas ! 
Yahveh was no more my shepherd. There was only a great 
darkness above me, a vast emptiness around. 

Sometimes I met a Jewish priest, or a Levite, sometimes 
a Roman soldier. A feeling of rage which then took pos- 
session of me reminded me that I was still a Jew. That 
feeling of impotent hatred against my country's enemies was 
all that remained of my early passions and beliefs. 

But gradually, as I walked on alone, there came over me 
a certain calm. This vast Everywhere around me was not 
quite dead. Something whispered in me of life and of love 
coming down in the torrents of sunshine which fell from 
the sky, talking in the prattling leaves of the olives, and 
the stately contentment of the palms. I could not resist the 
influence of this sweet motherly smile which was on the face 
of land and sky. And there came to me an old saving of 
the sacred writing, which I could still listen to without 
resistance: " Wait on the Lord, and he will comfort thy 
heart. Wait.'' "Yes," I answered: "I can at least 
w^ait. ' ' 

It began to be about the ninth hour when I reached the 
summit of the ridge above the Sea of Gennesar. There it 
lay, the fair sweet maiden lake, the same gentle ripple on 
its bosom I had seen so often. There rose the vast hills, 
stern guardians of its peace, light vapors curling up their 
sides, and drifting away from their summits. There, far 
below me, were the villages and cities on the shore of the 
deep-lying Chinnereth, or Gennesar, or Gennesaret ; for we 
called our favorite lake in all these ways, as men give tender 
names to those they love. The waters lay deep down in 
the gulf below the black rocks which the fire had melted 



I 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 123 

and burned in some former age, perhaps when the cities of 
the lower plain were devoured by flames out of the earth, 
and by brooks of fire. 

Nine cities and many towns, my children, cluster round 
this water, where summer prevails all the year. Wonderful 
kinds of trees and plants grow there, with strange flowers 
and fruits, such as we never saw on the upper plains or hills 
of Syria. As I looked down, I beheld the white walls of 
Kana, farther down those of Kapharnaum and Migdol and 
Magedan ; and, proudly domineering over all, the towers, 
walls, and marble palaces of the hateful Tiberias. But, from 
the height where I sat, they all seemed to slumber in peace, 
remote from hate or love. 

As I sat, still gazing on the familiar scene, two men came 
near, ascending the path. One of them, as he approached, 
threw aloft his arms, and spake eagerly to the other in the 
well-known tones and pronunciation of the lake- valley. His 
face seemed familiar too ; and, as he came near, I remem- 
bered him, and knew that he was a famous fisherman, called 
Simon, or Simon-bar- Johanan. His fellow-fishermen said 
often that Johanan his father was no prophet when he named 
him Simon, which in our language, my children, means 
"the hearer;" for he loved to speak more than to listen. 
He acted with quickness ; he always went before his com- 
panions ; he was prompt to speak and to do ; his boat led 
the others on the lake ; and on the land he ever walked in 
front, leading the way. He was so certain in his beliefs, 
that he made others do as he thought best ; and I have 
known a whole company of boats follow his boat across the 
lake to some bay where he thought certainly to find fish, and 
thus lose half a day fishing there in vain. Then Simon ever 
grieved, and that bitterly, and called himself a foolish per- 
son, and shed tears ; so that their anger against him was 
forgotten, seeing his sorrow. If any opposed him with 
words or blows, he was brave as a lion ; but if they were cold 



124 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

to him, or seemed to laugh at him, he was sorely perplexed, 
making excuses, and saying any thing to please them. Nev- 
ertheless, he was so active, so open, so kind, that all men 
loved him. 

As he came near, sometimes turning to speak to the man 
behind, he saw me and stopped, and at last cried out, " It 
is he, — Thomas the twin!" And he came swiftly toward 
me, and cried, "The Lord bless thee!" and, lifting his 
arms, bowed his head in salutation, according to the custom. 
Then he asked me with eagerness whence I came, and many 
other questions. 

But I, answering him, also inquired concerning the towns 
and the people. Then he l^roke forth, like a swollen stream 
in the time of rains, which cannot be held back, but carries 
away all that is opposed to it : " O Thomas I marvellous things 
have come to pass, and greater are to come. A new prophet 
has arisen, and once more there is open vision. He seeth 
through all veils, and the hidden worlds of God are all naked 
and open to his eyes. He reads the thoughts of men, and 
shows unto each man his own soul. AVhen he speaks of the 
kingdom of Him who is to come, he seems to be making 
pictures of it all. The power of Yahveh goes with him, and 
angels are by his side unseen. He loves to heal the sick ; 
and, when he touches them with his hand, the demon of 
disease flies affrighted away. I saw with my own eyes the 
spirit of madness leave a raging man of whom the moon- 
demon had taken possession. All these demons of wrath 
and pain hate him and fear him. Yet is he not such as I 
deemed a prophet must be. He hath in him no bitterness, 
but is ever gentle and kindly. He dwells not in deserts, 
but goes among men. Nor loves he that men should hold 
much discourse concerning him ; but ever, when the evil 
spirit is cast forth, he chargeth the man who is liealed that 
he speak not of it to any. Neither will he receive thanks, 
but teaches men to thank God only, since all good things 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 125 

come from God. I Sisked him once why he forbade us to tell 
of all his goodness. And he said, " Call not me good ; none 
is good, save God. When I heal with my right hand, I let 
not my left hand know it." 

I replied, and asked, "But what, then, teacheth he con- 
cerning the kingdom which is to come ? ' ' 

"Strange things," replied Simon, "and such as I do not 
well understand. He tells us not to hate the Romans, nor 
doth he prophesy their desolation ; but at one time he said 
that those who would be children of the kingdom must love 
even the Romans, and pray for them." 

"Then," cried I, "he is no true prophet of Yahveh. 
What, then ! must we love the Romans, who trample down 
our worship, who defile our temples, who corrupt our people, 
who make slaves of the children of God ? How is the king- 
dom of the Anointed King and Priest of God to come, ex- 
cept we destroy totally out of the land these tigers and 
devouring plagues? How is the Lord's house to be above 
all other temples till all the rest are utterly overthrown ? ' ' 

" The thought of my heart resembled thine," said Simon. 
* ' And I marvel ever at these things when I am alone ; but, 
when I am with him, I hearken unto his words, and they 
fill my heart with such a hope, that I am sure he speaketh 
the truth, though T may not understand how. — How sayest 
thou, brother Andreas? " 

" In truth my thought is like thine," replied Andreas, who 
was a brother of Simon, "and has ever been such since I 
heard the Baptizer call him ' the Lamb of God. ' But as yet 
thou hast not told Thomas who the prophet is. He comes 
from Nazirah, — that little place among the hills, on the side 
of the shoulder of Lebanon, where it descendetli into the great 
plain. His name with his people is Joshua-bar- Yosheph ; 
but the Greeks call him Jesus." 

"A poor place," said I, "is Nazirah, that it should send 
forth a prophet. It hath a people, if I remember aright, 



12G THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

who are a proverb in Israel for their ignorance of all sacred 
things ; a people who neglect the feasts, and are hardly 
children of Abraham." 

" Thou hast said truly," replied Andreas ; " but in a peck 
of chaff are ever to be found some kernels of wheat. Men 
say that Maria, the mother of Jesus, is a daughter of holi- 
ness : her feet walk ever in the paths of peace. And 
Yosheph, the father, is a just man and honorable." 

"These things may be," I answered; " yet I follow not 
a prophet whose teachings are of love toward the Romans. 
I am still a Jew ; and I hold to my hatred unto them, though 
the remainder of the faith of my fathers has gone from 
me. But how is it that ye, Simon and Andreas, are friends 
of one who differs greatly from your great master, Johanan 
the Baptizer? His fame came unto me even in the land 
of Egypt ; for men spake of his sternness, and of his holy 
life in the wilderness, and that he was set apart unto God 
by his father, the priest, from his childhood ; of his denying 
himself as no man hath done since the days of El-jah ; and 
how, when he came forth to prophesy, he feared not the face 
of man, but denounced the wrath of the Lord on all sinners, 
and set his face like a flint, and went in the heat and bitter- 
ness of his spirit to call men to repentance. Many related 
that men's hearts were shaken b}^ his word, as when the tem- 
pest beats upon the branches of a wood, or as the earth is 
shaken when the demons below tremble at the name of Yah- 
veh. Ye call yourselves followers of this mighty prophet, 
whose word is with power. Why leave ye him for another, 
who concealeth even his good deeds, and whose words are 
so low and soft that unto this hour no man speaketh his 



name r 



9 ,, 



"Is it not written," said Andreas, " that the Lord Yahveh 
came once to the prophet El-jah, not in the tempest, nor in 
the earthquake, nor the fire, but in the still small voice which 
followed them? We, also, have seen prophets of the fire and 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 127 

of the tempest. The Baptist, indeed, was like unto a shak- 
ing of the earth ; perchance he of whom we speak is the still 
small voice, and through him the Lord shall talk unto his 
people. 

" Moreover, I tell unto thee, O Thomas, a thing marvel- 
lous, yet true. Johanan, even Johanan the Baptizer hima^elf, 
has bowed himself before this man of Nazirah, saying, ' I 
am not worthy to unfasten the thongs of thy sandals, O 
Joshua, Lamb of God.' And from Johanan received we this 
commandment, even to follow after Joshua-bar- Yosheph, and 
hearken unto the words of his mouth. For Johanan said, 
' He shall baptize you with the spirit of God and with fire.' 
Truly I know not the meaning of this saying ; but the words 
I repeat unto thee as spoken." 

' ' And are the followers of this new prophet many ? ' ' asked 
I. "It is easily to be believed ; since he is a preacher of 
peace. For the courage of the Maccabees has fled from our 
people, and men love not the prophet who calls them ever 
forth to battle. The prophet who teaches love unto the 
Romans — many disciples will be his." Thus I spake in 
bitterness. 

" Many follow him ; but few adhere unto him," said Simon. 
' ' Most men desire that he should call down fire from heaven 
to drive these devouring locusts out of the land. If men 
hear, perchance, of some great work wrought by his hands, 
they throng after him, for men ever hasten after that which 
is new and strange. And at the speech of his lips they 
stand amazed, for there is a power in his words which hold- 
eth them, and willingly they leave him not. He speaketh not 
as some rabbis, who utter pompous words, and foam at the 
mouth, and would thus drive us where they will ; but, as he 
speaketh, our thoughts follow him willingly. Neither doth 
any man doubt aught that the prophet sayeth ; for he shows 
unto us the world of God above, as though he stood at its 
portal, and looked therein. He uscth none of the arguments 



128 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

of the scribes, but talketh to us with much simplicity. Some- 
times he teaches us with stories, which are like the nuts of 
the pistachio, which must be broken to find the meat inside. 
Often, as thou knowest, a nut is too hard to be broken by 
our teeth : and even thus oftentimes we see not the meaning 
of the tale. Yet we remember the story, for the manner of 
the tale causeth it to cleave unto our minds ; and after many 
days the truth contained therein becometh clear unto us. 
Thus we find the kernel, and it feedeth us. All his teaching- 
is wholesome food to the soul." 

" Thy words," said Simon, '• call to my mind his saying, 
that we should eat and drink him. Dost thou remember, 
Andreas, how we wondered, and were amazed, and knew not 
what to say? But he loveth sometimes to say strange things, 
and hard things. We are astonished by such sayings, and 
our mind becomes wide open : so we ponder the dark saying 
until the light breaks in.. Who was it who found out what 
he meant by saying that we must eat him and drink him, 
if we would get any real life out of him ? ' ' 

''That man was Johanan. — Thou hast not forgotten our 
old partners in the fishing-boat, Thomas, — Jacob and Johann 
(or John as we call him for shortness), — the sons of old 
Zabdi, who owned so many boats on the lake? After the 
prophet had told us so gravely, that, to receive any life from 
him, we must eat him and drink him, I saw Johann walk- 
ing by himself, his head sunk on his bosom. At last he 
cried out, ' I see it ! Suppose I give two loaves to two men : 
one is hungry, and eats his loaf ; the other puts his away. 
After a time I say to them, " Where are j^oui* loaves? " One 
says, "I have mine here," and shows it. The other says, 
" I cannot show it to you, for I have eaten it : I have made 
it a part of myself. But it has given me strength, so that I 
can work for you. I cannot give you back your loaf ; but 
I can give you back, instead of it, much work." Thus, if 
the prophet says, "What was the doctrine which I taught 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 129 

unto you many days ago?" one, who can remember words 
well, repeateth unto the prophet the words he said ; but an- 
other, who remembereth not the words, hath already begun to 
obey the truth, and live by it. The last hath eaten and 
drunken the truth, and so eaten and drunken the master ; 
for this teacher is the very truth made into flesh, and living 
in our midst.' Thus said Johann, and methinks he spoke 
well." 

Then I answered, " That doctrine suits me well ; for words 
have ever escaped from me when I most desired to keep 
them, — even as a beautiful butterfly escapes out of the hand 
when we think to hold it, — but the sense remains long after 
the words have gone. And I see that if a man hungers for 
truth, and swallows it because he loves it, it may do him more 
good than to remember the words. In speaking thus, your 
teacher, methinks, spoke well. But tell me where he first 
was seen by you." 

Simon answered, and said, ''We first saw him at the River 
Jordan, where great crowds had come to hear the Baptizer. 
Never man was braver than the Baptizer. He cared neither 
for Roman soldier nor Jewish priest. He taught that all 
were sinners, and that all must repent ; for the end of the 
old age had come, and a new age was to begin ; and, when 
the new age should begin, all who had not repented of their 
sins, and been washed in the holy river, would be swept 
away into the fires of Hinnom. So he spoke day by day, 
and no man dared oppose him. Certain priests went from 
Jerusalem, and were baptized, loudly confessing that they had 
taken money from widows and orphans, and kept it for them- 
selves. Others went away in anger, and told King Antipas 
at Tiberias, that the Baptizer had called him an adulterer, 
whom Heaven would destroy. This made the king wroth, 
and yet he dared not put the Baptizer to silence, so great 
was the power of his word. Many said Johann must be the 
Coming One. But Johann denied that he was the Coming 



130 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. 

One, the great King. He said, ' I am only a sound and a 
voice, a cr}^ which comes before him ; but he is close at 
hand — he is near b3^ I see him standing on the threshing- 
floor. The people of the land are the seeds of grain which 
have been beaten to pieces by cruel Roman soldiers and 
tyrannical kings. These kings are flails, in the hands of 
angels, to bruise the seed, and separate the chaff from. the 
wheat. And now the great King of kings takes the fan in 
his hand, and will send the strong wind through the granary, 
and drive away the light chaff, and save the good wheat. 
Repent, repent, O 3^e who are only chaff ! Light and empty 
souls, repent, before ye are cast into unquenchable fire. I 
hear the trumpets blowing in the heavens, which proclaim 
his coming. He is here ! He is here ! Repent, or perish 
forever ! ' Thus spoke the Baptizcr with a cry of terrible 
anguish ; and the people called aloud for mercy, and 
thronged to the water, seeking to be baptized. 

"On a certain day there came among them a young man, 
whom all looked upon with reverence. In his face was to be 
seen power and good will, and withal a piercing look, which 
entered the soul. As he drew near, the Baptizer ceased 
speaking, and gazed on him, and said, * Why should I bap- 
tize thee, O thou pure of heart? Rather baptize thou me. 
Thou needest no repentance ; but I myself am also a sinner. 
O thou Lamb of God, take away my sins, and that of all the 
world.' But Joshua-bar- Yosheph bowed his head, saying, 
' Yet suffer it to be so ; for it is becoming to fulfil every 
thing which is right.' Then Johann baptized him ; and, when 
Joshua-bar- Yosheph came up out the water, Johann said, 
' Behold, ye children, here is one on whom I see the spirit of 
Yahveh descending. It cometh down on him softly, flyixjg 
like a dove, and resteth on him. Since his childhood it hath 
rested on him, and remaineth with him. The voice which 
commanded me to baptize said that when I should find one 
on whom the holy spirit of Yahveh remaineth always, he is 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 131 

the King who is to come; he is the Sou of God.' Thus 
spoke the Baptizer ; aud all who stood near heard him. 
My brother and I stood by and hearkened also, aud asked, 
' Who, then, is this youth? ' And they answered us, ' Joshua, 
also called Jesus, the son of Yosheph of Nazirah in Galilee.' 
Therefore we, desirous of knowing all goodness, followed 
him. But Andreas followed him first with another, and 
asked him where he dwelt, and he said unto them, 'Come 
with me.' All that day they staid with him, .and he spake 
unto them of the great kingdom which is to come ; and 
spake with such knowledge, that they hastened to me, and 
said, ' This' must be he, — the One who is to come.' " 

"But why," asked I, " did the Baptizer, who believes in a 
kingdom of power, receive this peaceful prophet as the King 
who is to come? " 

" They had known each other from childhood, and I think 
were cousins. ' Things which are different,' saith the prov- 
erb, 'cling more closely than things which are alike.' The 
Baptizer said that the new prophet was higher than himself. 
' He cometh after me,' said he, ' but is before me, for he was 
always better than I.' It was strange to see this proud man, 
who had withstood kings, become so humT)le in the presence 
of this youth of Nazirah, saying, ' He shall grow greater, and 
I shall become less.' But I think he was displeased with our 
prophet afterward, because he did not openly proclaim him- 
self the anointed King of Israel in the sight of all men. 
After Herod had put the Baptizer in prison, Johann became 
impatient, and could wait no longer, and sent two of his 
disciples unto Jesus (for so the people now call Joshua, 
where Greek is spoken) to rebuke him for liis backwardness. 
Ah! Johann knew well how to rebuke all men, even kings 
and Roman generals, and he dared to rebuke him whom he 
believed to be the Anointed ; for he feared no one." 

" But what said the two disciples of Johann? " 

" They came to where the poor people stood around Jesus, 



132 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

listening to his words ; and, rudely interrupting him, cried 
out, ' Johann the Baptizer has sent us to ask whether thou 
art He that is to come, or whether we shall have to look 
around to find another.' And we were angry at this speech. 
But Jesus lifted his hand, and said ver}'- quietly to the mes- 
sengers, ' Come with me, and judge for yourselves.' So he 
went to where a great multitude of sick and blind and lame 
persons were gathered together. They waited for the time 
when Jesus should cease speaking to the people words of 
comfort, in the hope that he might thereafter aid their in- 
firmities. And Jesus went down to the little hollow where 
they sat and lay in the shade of the tall palms : and, as he 
came near, all their sad eyes turned longingly toward him ; 
but none spake. The disciples of Johann came after him, 
wondering what this should mean. Then Jesus, having 
lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, walked forward, 
raising his arms over them, and telling them to be full of 
cheer, for God forgave them their sins. And I saw the 
light of hope coming into their eyes. Some who were lame 
stretched out their hands to him ; and he said, ' Arise, and 
walk.' In his voice there was a deep music such as I never 
heard : it was full of courage and power. The lame men 
staggered up on their feet, and cried out, ' AYe can walk, 
we can walk ! ' And the faces of the blind lost their sad- 
ness, and their eyes began to turn hither and thither, and 
they reached out their hands as if to touch what was before 
them, not believing that they saw. Near by was a group of 
white lepers, most unhappy of men. All the people avoided 
them ; but Jesus went, without pausing, unto them, touching 
them without fear ; and in a voice which thrilled the soul 
said unto each of them, ' Be clean ! ' Then, O wonderful 
sight ! the white spots slowly disappeared, and, instead of the 
gloom in their faces, joy began to come like sunshine into 
their eyes. Yet they believed not that they were healed, 
until Jesus said, ' Go, show yourselves to the priest, that he 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 133 

may examine you, and see that you are well. Be washed and 
purified, and offer your two sparrows, as the law commands.' 
And when they all cried aloud, and blessed him, he said, 
'Bless God, not man; for every good gift is from him.' 
And he turned to the messengers of Johann, and bade them 
that they should go and tell Johann what they had seen, 
and to say to him, moreover, that he is blessed who sees 
God's presence wherever there is any good done to man. 
He told them that no one ought to be offended, as Johann 
was offended, because, where he might expect a great power 
to conquer and destroy, he should find instead thereof a great 
power to help and to save. 

" So the messengers of Johann went away, half ashamed, 
and much astonished. And we, when they were gone, were 
sorely displeased at Johann, because, after having seen the 
greatness of our prophet, he had thus dared to rebuke him 
for neglecting his work, saying that the people must leave 
him to try to find a better leader. For if Jesus were the 
greater of the two, as Johann said, how could he command 
him what he must do, and what forbear doing ? Is it right 
that a lesser prophet should rebuke a greater? Thus we 
were displeased because of these hard words of blame uttered 
in the presence of all the people. We feared that men would 
no longer honor our master, seeing that Johann, whom all 
reverenced as a just person, had openly threatened him that 
he should cease to be a prophet in Israel. 

" Therefore we spoke angrily concerning Johann and his 
message, and his messengers, and said that he had a devil. 
But Jesus blamed us for this, and spoke in behalf of him 
who had rebuked him, saying that we must not censure 
Johann, since God had made him strong and brave, like a 
soldier, for his work, and not made him to be like those who 
speak daintily, and cover hard thoughts with smooth words. 
The voice which cried in the wilderness so mightily that all 
men went forth to hear it was not like the voices which mur- 



134 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

mill" soft things in the palaces of kings. ' Did yon go out 
into the Trilderness,' said he, 'to see a reed sliaken b}^ the 
wind ? or a man clothed in soft raiment ? Xo ! but to see a 
prophet, and one more than a prophet.' And thus he made 
us see and understand that a man who is sent by the Lord to 
do one work cannot be like the man who is sent to do 
another ; that the man of the wilderness cannot be like the 
man of the city. He whose work is to cry aloud and spare 
not in the fields and streets, so that all men must fain hear, 
will indeed have a voice sounding harshly. And he told us 
concerning Johann, that he was as great a prophet as any 
who had ever come to preach repentance to Israel ; that he 
had in him the ver}^ soul of the great El-jah, and that there- 
fore it was said that El-jah must come again before the new 
kingdom should be established. Thus we ceased to be wroth 
concerning Johann. And so was fulfilled the saying of the 
ancients, that ' as a large bowl will contain a smaller bowl 
and all its contents, but a smaller bowl will not hold a larger 
one, so a greater mind can see all the truth and goodness in 
a smaller one, but a smaller one cannot understand the wis- 
dom of the larger.' " 

But afterward, when I, Thomas, had learned to know 
Jesus, he talked with us more deepty concerning John, in 
words hard to be understood, and which I can scarcely 
remember. But this I know, that he taught us how Johann 
was the greatest of the prophets under the law, having in 
him the spirit of the law and the prophets ; but that, when 
the law Avas fulfilled in the kingdom of the Christ, the least 
child in that kingdom would be higher than Johann, knowing 
something which was above the knowledge of those born 
under the law. For the kingdom of heaven, he said, was 
higher than the law ; and all the children of the kingdom 
would see what the wisest men before them were not able to 
understand. And I, meditating on these words, thought 
thus : that the man who has the best eyes cannot see in the 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 135 

night what a man with poor eyesight can see in the day. 
For, my children, the law reigned dming the darkness by 
fear and force, by the commandment and authority of the 
holy God ; but the age of the kingdom of Jesus is like 
the day. The time of the good news, in which we live, is 
a reign of love, in which we are drawn to what is right by 
the goodness of God and his forgiving grace. In the time 
of which I speak we were like those who were passing from 
the dark and cold night into a sunny day. ~ The night was 
gone ; but the day had not come. It was neither night nor 
day. The law and the prophets ruled before the time of 
Johann, and ended with him. The day of the Christ began 
when he rose out of death into a higher life ; but between 
the two was the day of the Baptizer, when neither law nor 
love were wholly supreme. We were looking for the light, 
but were still in darkness. Thus I felt at that time in my 
cloudy mind. Nevertheless, I heard gladly this new prophet ; 
though, to speak the truth, I hoped not to receive any thing 
from him. Could a man of Nazirah give me back the faith 
I had lost? I believed it not at all, yet I asked to hear 
more concerning him. 

Then, sitting by my side, looking down over the olive- 
trees and palm-trees, to the valley below, to the blue lake, 
and to the black hills beyond, Simon and Andreas continued 
their narration : — 

"Tell Thomas," said Andreas, "of the draught of 
fishes." 

" I came back to the lake," replied Simon, " after having 
listened to the Baptizer, and I mused in my heart concerning 
this teacher from Nazirah, and desired much to see him 
again. At last I was told that he continued to teach and 
to work wonders on the coast and in the cities of the coast. 
It was the sabbath, and I sat in my own house ; for my wife 
was with her mother who had been taken with a fever, mid 
was very sick. I heard a sound of many feet, and of voices, 



136 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

outside the door. When I opened it, I saw the Prophet 
Jesus, and a multitude behind him, who cried, ' Glory ! ' and 
' Hosanna ! ' for he had just driven an evil spirit from a 
man in the synagogue, and all rejoiced, and were telling of 
the wonder. To escape the throng, he came into my house. 
And, when I told him of the sickness of the woman, he went 
unto the bedside, and looked her in the face, and in a voice 
which seemed to penetrate to the dividing asunder of the 
heart said some words which I could not hear. But a great 
calmness came over the restless woman, and drops of mois- 
ture were on her forehead. Then she said, ' Lo ! I am 
already better ; the heat is gone, and the uneasiness.' After 
a time she rose from the bed, and brought to us bread and 
fruit, and we ate thereof. 

"But outside of the house the same noise continued, for 
all men were waitino^ to see what next thiuo- should be done. 
As the sun descended behind these hills on which we now 
sit, and the burning heats of the da}^ were over, they brought 
to my door many sick persons on mats, and on beds made of 
branches of palm. Then Jesus went out among them, and 
prayed, and spoke to them, and laid his hands on them. 
The sickness fled, and the illness faded away from them. 
And we wondered greatly at the power of God. 

" When the people came again to my house on the next 
day, to look for him, he had already departed. Early in the 
morning, as the day dawned, he went away, to avoid the 
crowd and the tumult ; and he went on foot, and alone, into 
the desert. Thus he stays but a short time in one place, 
teaching, and doing good works, and then goes elsewhere. 
Thus the peace of the people is not much distui'bed, and 
calm returns to them. 

' ' But on another day I was near my boat on the shore, 
with this my brother Andreas. Near by was another boat, 
belonging to Zabdi the boat-owner, who was with his two 
sons, Jacob and Johann. We sat on the shore, and dried 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 137 

our nets on the grass, mending them where they were 
broken. Then came Jesus, talking with the people, and 
answering their questions. As all wished to be near him, 
they crowded each other, and no one could well hear what 
he said. Jesus called to me, and said, ' Simon, I will 
go into thy boat, and I beseech thee to push a little way 
from the shore, that I may speak to the people from the 
boat while they stand on the beach.' I did so. I heard 
him say many wise words, telling them of the love and the 
truth of Yahveh. But at last he said, ' Enough for this 
time. Push out, Simon, into the deep places of the lake, 
and let down thy net, and take fish.' But I answered, 
' Master, there are no fish now in this part of the lake ; for 
both we and the sons of Zabdi have labored diligently all 
night long, and have caught nothing.' — ' Nevertheless,' he 
answered, ' suffer it for a time, and let down thy net here 
where we now are.' I did so; and, behold! when I began 
to raise it, a great number of fishes were enclosed, and we 
could see their white bellies and their fins as they were 
caught in the meshes of the net. And so many were they, 
that Andreas and I together could not raise them from the 
sea : so we called to Zabdi and his sons, and they, also, 
came with their boat. We pulled up the net at last, and 
poured the fishes into it ; and the boat lay over on its side 
with the weight. Great fear then came over my soul ; for it 
seemed as if the power of God were there. I thought of 
all my sins, and trembled before that face, so full of power 
and holiness. Then I said, ' Depart from me, master ; for 
I am too sinful to be near to thee.' He smiled, and an- 
swered, ' Be not afraid ; for thou shalt henceforth be a fislier 
of men.' What thinkest thou, Thomas, of all this? " 

I answered, as my mind impelled me: "I come from a 
land, even Egypt, where are many sorcerers and astrologers, 
and I have seen wonderful things done by enchantment. I 
have seen demons active, and the dead called from their 



138 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

graves. But I think not that the great God doeth all this ; 
nor doth he send power to help men to astonish each other 
in such wa5"s, or to win fame and riches by doing wonders. 
Many such things are done through deceit, and many are 
done iguorantly, by unwise men, who know not the secret 
powers hidden in the nature of things. I also have seen men 
cured of disease by the confident word of a physician. There 
is a true magical art, as my teacher in Egypt assured me, 
w^hich is in use among the Persians. It is a knowledge of 
the book of nature, and a keen insight of the soul into 
many mysteries. Perhaps j^our master hath learned this wis- 
dom, and hence can speak to disease with power, and can 
see where the fishes most throng in the sea. But not because 
of this do I believe that he is He that is to come." 

Thus I spoke, for I had lost my faith in the might}^ signs 
and wonders in which our people trusted, believing in the 
great power of Yahveh. But Andreas replied, — 

"To see is to believe. Come and look with thine own 
eyes, and hear his words, and faith will return unto thee." 

I answered, and said, "Verily, I suppose j^our prophet is 
clothed in wretched raiment, and liveth miserably on roots, 
and alone in the desert, and astonisheth all men b}^ his pov- 
erty and self-denial, and long prayers, hating the joys of 
life. For thus have all prophets done, and the Baptizer 
more than all." 

They smiled at this, and answered, " But our prophet doth 
not at all on this wise. He seeketh no such glory. He eateth, 
drinketh, and sleepeth, and is dressed like others. He walketh 
in the streets, and eateth with Romans, and doth not refuse to 
go into rich men's houses, and yet he loveth better to be with 
the poor, and blesseth them greatly. He is not seen to pray, 
but goeth away alone, if he prays, and, indeed, hath no set 
hours for prayer. He goeth to see the glad and the sad 
alike. We will give unto thee a proof of this. 

"When he first began to preach and to teach on these 



I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 139 

shores of the lake, after the Baptizer had so greatly glorified 
him, all men were very attentive to his words and actions. 
And one day there was a wedding in the town called Kana, 
among the hills, which in truth is not far from Nazirah. 
The mother of Jesus, who is called Maria, a wise and 
noble woman, together with her sons, was a guest at the 
wedding. We, also, were there, and many more ; for the 
family had many friends. The feast lasted several days, 
and toward the end of it the wine had been all drunken and 
gone. And Miriam said to her son that the wine was 
gone, for she had confidence in his knowledge and power. 
What he answered I know not, but he commanded the 
servants that they should fill some large jars which stood 
near by with water. When they had done so, it became 
wine, and so good that no man had tasted better. Then they 
saw that this prophet was not like those who went before, 
but that he wished men to be glad and joyful. Many said, 
however, ' We do not call a man like this a prophet. How 
can a prophet go to weddings, and make wine for men to 
drink when they haA^e already drunken much ? He is a wine- 
bibber and a glutton. And, besides this, he goeth among 
the sinners and Gentiles, and all baser people.' " 
' ' And what answered your prophet unto this ? ' ' 
"He said that he was like a physician, who goeth among 
the sick to heal them. If any should sa}^, ' That man goeth 
ever among sick people, he cannot be a physician,' you 
would answer, ' Where, then, but among the sick, ought the 
physician to go? ' Wherever men are, whether good men or 
bad, our master goeth to teach and help them. He is like 
the sunshine, which the Lord sends on the good and bad 
alike. And, when they blamed him because he made wine 
for the wedding, he said, ' You are like the little children 
we saw to-day playing in the market. Some of them were 
angry, and would not play. The others entreated them, 
saying, " We will play a wedding, or we will play a funeral : 



140 THE LEGEND OF THOiVIAS, CALLED DIDYJa'S. 

choose which." But they would play neither. Thus it is 
with you. Ye did not like Johann the Baptizer, because 
he was stern and serious, and would not eat nor drink with 
you ; and ye do not like me, and ye blame me because I 
eat and drink. But Johann was right in his way, and I am 
right in my way ; for wisdom has many different children, 
and no two are alike.' Something like this he said. For 
this prophet, Thomas, is not like the others who have come 
before. He is very gentle to the poor, the weak, the sinful, 
very tender to his friends ; and he behaves himself unto his 
enemies as if they also were his friends. But he is bold to 
show the people their sins, and to speak against all falsehood 
and hypocrisy, all guile and cruelty. One day thou wilt see 
him, and judge for thyself of these things." 

Then rising, they went their way ; and I descended, going 
toward the lake. 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIKAH. 141 



CHAPTER VIII. 

I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH ; AND I LISTEN TO HIM AS HE 
PROPHESIES, AND TEACHES THE PEOPLE. 

I DESCENDED the hill toward the lake, by tfie well-known 
path which wound among the olive-groves, with their light 
flickering leaves, and came unto a place where the houses 
stood surrounded by fig-trees in all their summer luxuriance. 
I thought of what I had heard of this new prophet. Truly 
I could not receive the belief that he might be the great 
Deliverer. How cuuld this poor peasant of Nazirah do 
what the Baptizer could not do, before whose word all men 
trembled, — he whom Herod feared as well as hated, whom 
the priests and Pharisees dared not oppose? Jesus was 
ignorant of letters ; he went among the poor people ; he 
taught only peace and good will. As well try to break an 
iron bar with the blow of a feather as to shake oif the chain 
of Roman power by such means as these. As to the wonder- 
ful works of which I had heard, I believed them not. I 
believed that he might have cured sick people by speaking 
with power to their minds, and creating faith in himself : 
such works had I seen in Alexandreia. Perhaps he had 
some magical charm with which to blind the eyes of those 
who beheld him ; but that the God of my fathers had given 
power to this prophet to break the laws of the world, that 
I could not believe. I had lost my faith in God's thus inter- 
fering in man's affairs. No, the world was left to go its 
own way. Force and craft ruled all things. Blind chance 
or iron destiny were the only gods I knew. Yet my thoughts 



142 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

returned to this Joshua, or Jesus as they had named him. 
There was a strangeness in his wa3^s whieh roused my 
curiosity. He followed not the paths of the prophets I had 
known. Most of the men of religion lived alone, in caves or 
woods : he went among the people. The}' ate only herbs, 
and drank only water : he ate meat, and drank wine. They 
praj^ed where men could see them, and might be moved to 
wonder at their holiness ; the}' knelt all day on the ground, 
and repeated a great multitude of prayers : but this man 
prayed not at any fixed hours, nor where men could see him. 
The others were might}' in proclaiming the vengeance of God, 
and calling down curses on his enemies and their own : this 
man was reported to speak only kind words, and to do good 
actions. No great power, I thought, could come from such a 
man ; but the sweetness of his life drew my thoughts to him. 
He could teach me nothing new, but I thought I should be 
glad to hear old words made new from such lips. And, thiis 
thinking, I went on, and came at last to the shore road, and 
saw before me the rich and thriving Kaphar-nahum, or the 
City of Consolation. I walked along the pebbly beach ; and 
the little waves as they ran up to the shore, and sparkled in 
the sun, seemed to welcome back the wanderer. 

As I came near to the white walls of Kaphar-nahum, I 
beheld the house of the tax-gatherer, which stood by the 
gate, where all who brought an}' thing into the city must pay 
their taxes to the publican, or collector of taxes. There was 
a crowd around the house, and much talking ; and I said, 
'•They are disputing his demands, and seeking to avoid 
paying the tax ; ' ' for very frequent and bitter were the 
quarrels concerning taxes. The great publicans at Rome 
bought from the Senate the right to tax our province of 
Syria, and sold this right again to other publicans. So each 
grasped all that he could extort from the nation. They were 
like robbers, or like hungry wolves, and were hated by the 
people. I had known well the man who held this place at 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 143 

Kaphar-nahum, and loved him as a dear friend. He was 
called Levi-Matthew, son of Alpheus. He was better than 
the others, and did much good with his badly-gained money. 
As I approached, I saw Levi talking with those who stood 
around, and some of his servants were collecting and pack- 
ing in boxes his rolls of accounts; and I said, "0 Levi! 
may blessings wait on thee ! Dost thou go from this place, 
and hath thine office been taken from thee?" He replied, 
"Mine office hath not been taken ; but I have given it up, 
and collect taxes no more. These friends lament, for they 
think that perchance a more cruel man than I may come into 
my place ; yet I hope not, for the people have need of all 
they have, and with difficulty pay their tax." I said, " But 
why dost thou quit thine office, O Levi? Though they mock 
at thee because of it, and spit on tlie ground as they pass, 
yet many, I know, would willingly take it themselves, for it 
is full of profit." But Matthew (which is Levi), the son of 
Alpheus, answered and said, "I have been called to-day to 
be a follower and a scholar of the new prophet, my kinsman, 
Jesus of Nazirah. I so love and honor him, that I shall 
leave all, and go wherever he desires. But tell me, Thomas, 
whence comest thou? It is long since I have seen thee. 
Come with me to my home, and let us talk together ; and I 
will make thee known unto the prophet, for he cometh to- 
day unto the feast which I give those who have been my 
companions and friends in my business. All the great publi- 
cans will be there, and others also. Though many hate us, 
and will not speak to us, nor eat with us, many others, as 
thou knowest, refuse not to salute us." Thus we walked 
together into the city, and passed through the narrow streets, 
where the high houses cast down shadows even at noon, and 
make a pleasant coolness ; for Kaphar-nahum was rightly 
so called, and was indeed a place of many comforts. 

As we walked, I said, "I know, O Matthew! that many 
Jews are friendly unto thee and unto thy brethren ; but 



144 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

very bitter is the hatred borne thee by the common people, 
and also by the Pharisees, leaders of the people. I, too, 
had I not well known thy manner of life, and that thou art 
a just man, would not have spoken unto thee to-day ; for 
thou servest the enemies of my country, even the Romans. 
How, then, has this prophet chosen thee to be one of his 
followers and friends ? All men will say, ' This cannot be a 
prophet ; since he has a servant of Eome, even a publican, 
a robber of the people, for his companion.' Also I much 
marvel that he should consent to come unto thy feast ; since 
most men will cry out against him for eating with thee, and 
great will be his dishonor in the eyes of the multitude." 

Then Matthew said, " He indeed goeth with all persons, and 
maketh no difference between one and another. All men are 
dear to him, and I think those are dearest whom other men 
most despise. It is now a few days only since one of the 
Pharisees, a man of much wealth and power, asked him to 
eat meat in his house, and Jesus went ; for, though he loves 
most the poor and sorrowing, he also loves well the rich and 
prosperous, knowing, that, though outwardly fortunate, they 
may hide many secret griefs in their souls. His eyes search 
every man's heart, and he sees what is in man ; for is he 
not in truth m}' kinsman, whom I have known now for many 
years, though only to-da}' have I become one of those who 
follow him constantly, to be taught by him, and to be wit- 
nesses of all that he doeth ? " 

Thus spake Levi, who is called Matthew ; and I went by 
his side in silence, astonished at the power which went forth 
from this man Jesus. But Matthew spake once more, and 
said, — 

' ' I have told thee of his eating meat in the house of 
Simon the Pharisee, where was a great company of the 
Pharisees. And, wiiile we sat and talked, we lifted up our 
eyes, and, behold, a woman stood in the doorway. Her eyes 
were full of tears, and her dress was that of a strange 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 145 

woman. She had sandals bright with gold on her feet, and 
her veil had dropped, and her face was like that of a fallen 
angel. And we knew her to be a woman full of sins, and 
wondered that she dared to come into the house of a holy 
man like Simon. Yet she seemed to pay heed to no one, 
and came softly forward to the place where Jesus lay on the 
couch near unto the host, with the others who lay around the 
table. As she passed behind the couch, some one said unto 
me that she had a costly box in her hand. Then she stood 
behind Jesus, and the tears dropped from her eyes on his 
feet ; and, when she saw it, she wiped them with her long 
hair. And she stooped and kissed his feet, and opened her 
box, and put costly ointment on his feet, so that the perfume 
filled the whole room. And Simon the Pharisee turned, and 
spoke to his neighbor, saying, ' Now I see that this man is 
no prophet ; for he is not offended at the woman, nor does he 
refuse to be touched by her. Surely he does not know, what 
we all know, that she is a sinner.' And all who were there 
were displeased with the woman, and doubted concerning 
Jesus. 

"Now, Jesus had been looking downward, not appear- 
ing to see what the woman did, nor to notice the discontent 
of those around. At last he raised his eyes, and turned them 
on Simon, the giver of the feast, and said with a pleasant 
smile, as though some thought had suddenly come to him, 
' Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee.' And the Phari- 
see was pleased, and answered with satisfaction, 'Master, 
say on.' Then Jesus told a story of two debtors, — one 
owing a large debt, and the other a small one, to the same 
lord ; and how he forgave them both. Afterward Jesus 
asked Simon to say which of these debtors would love the 
good man the most, ^imon answered that he supposed he 
would love him most to whom he had forgiven most. Then 
Jesus turned, and looked at the woman kneeling behind the 
couch, and said to Simon, but still with a smile, and showing 



146 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

that he knew what had been in his thoughts, ' Seest thou, 
this woman, Simon? I came into thine house, and was 
thy guest ; thou gayest me no water for my feet : but this 
woman hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with 
the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss of salu- 
tation on my cheek : but this woman, since I came in, hath 
not ceased to kiss, even, my feet. Thou didst not bring oil 
to put on my head : but this woman hath anointed my feet 
with costly ointment. Seest thou not in this, Simon, her 
great love? Her love is great, because, her sin having been 
great, I have brought to her pardon from God. Those who 
see not that they commit sins feel not the ■ need of pardon. 
Thou thoughtest I knew not that she was a sinner. I know 
that her sin hath been great, and her soul full of disease ; 
but she is now healed.' O Thomas! when he said that, it 
was like the sun breaking suddenly into the room. All felt 
ashamed who had said evil words about the woman ; for we 
knew she had repented of her sins, and had saved her soul 
alive. Then Jesus told her to go in peace, and she went 
out, still weeping ; but I think her tears were tears of joy. 
Simon began to make excuses ; but Jesus said, ' Forbear, 
but remember, that, when God has cleansed a soul^ thou must 
not call it unclean. God's forgiveness can make sins which 
are like scarlet as white as snow.' Thus did Jesus speak, 
or somewhat thus ; for I mj^self was not there, but I heard of 
it from others." 

And this story, O my children ! sank into my heart. I 
have often repeated it unto you ; for in it is the essence of the 
glad tidings of great jo3\ Then, while I listened to Matthew, 
a sudden ray of light flashed into the darkness of my soul. 
I saw for a moment how all evil might be changed to good ; 
since even sin, when repented of anc^ forgiven, is thus trans- 
formed into that love which casteth out fear, and'maketh us 
sit even now, in heaven, among the angels. 

Thus talking, we came to the house of Matthew ; and, as 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 147 

we entered, we saw vessels of water placed where the purify- 
ing ablutions could be performed, as the rabbis ordain. And 
I, also, poured the water on my hands carefully, according 
to the directions ; for though my faith in the law of my 
fathers had fled, and I had no longer any belief in Yahveh, 
and my soul within was full of darkness, I still practised the 
outward ceremonies of my people as of old, and would have 
felt sinful had I neglected them. Thus the forms of religion 
will often remain, my children, after its soul has gone ; as, 
when the life of a tree has fled, its dead trunk remains, or 
as the shell of a nut continues sound when the kernel within 
is dead. Therefore I carefully poured the water of purify- 
ing on my hands, first looking to see that no black drop had 
colored it, and remembering the rule that we must not pour 
the water on the two hands with a single gush from the 
vessel, nor let the water poured on the wrist run back into 
the hand, nor pour the water out of one hand upon the other. 
For thus had we been taught. Now, when we were sitting in 
the cool shadow, the doors were opened, and I saw a young- 
man come in, followed by others. A murmur went around 
the chamber, "This is he ! " When I saw him, I was aston- 
ished ; for the youth did not appear as a mighty prophet, but 
rather as one of the beautiful angels who stand near the 
throne of God. As he and his followers went by the water- 
pots of purifying, and did not pour water on their hands, 
a murmur of discontent went around the room. The j^outh- 
ful master paused, and said to us, " If we wish to be really 
clean, let us cleanse that which is within, not that which 
is without." Yet I thought within myself, "But why not 
both?" 

Afterward, when I came to know him well, I asked him 
this question, repeating what my Master Gamaliel had once 
said to me : "Must not every soul have a body? In religion, 
are not such works as the wasliing of hands, keeping the 
sabbath, abstaining from unclean meats, fasthig at certain 



148 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

times, hours of prayer, and sacrifices, the body of which 
faith, hope, and love are the soul? The body which hath no 
soul is a corpse, and ought to be buried out of the way ; but 
the soul which has no body is a ghost, and doth not become 
useful to the people, but only frighteneth them, because its 
natural organs of speech and touch are wanting. If these 
are dead works, would it not be better to make them alive 
by putting more of soul into them, than to cast them aside 
altogether? Thou and thy disciples fast not, neither wash 
hands before meat, nor abstain from unclean food, nor pray 
at regular hours, nor keep the sabbath ; and thus those 
whose consciences are weak are offended. Weak souls need 
such outward supports, and find much comfort in them ; and, 
if suddenly deprived of them, then- religion goes away at 
once. Moreover, our religion is so tied and bound to these 
actions, that, when we do the outward act, the inward spirit 
is born again within us. If spiritual exercises keep the body 
health}^ and pure, bodily exercises, in turn, arouse the soul." 
Thus I spoke, repeating the arguments I had heard from the 
lips of my old teacher, the wise Gamaliel, disciple of the 
benignant Hillel. He used to add, " These traditions are a 
fence around the law, as abstinence is a fence around tem- 
perance, and as the outward sabbath-keeping is a fence 
around the inward sabbath-keeping, or rest of the soul." 

The master and I sat beneath the shade of a pomegranate- 
tree ; and, the fruit being ripe, I had gathered one, and had 
eaten it. And the master asked me what I had done with the 
hard rind, which was like the leather of which men make 
sandals. I pointed to the fragments which I had thrown on 
the ground. And he told me that the works of the law, such 
as fasting, and abstaining from meats, were like the rind of 
a fruit, or the shell of a nut, — good while the fruit is grow- 
ing, to keep it from harm, but to be broken and cast away 
w^hen the fruit is ripe. At another time he compared these 
Jewish ceremonies to the leathern bottles into which wine is 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 149 

put : and he said, that if we put the new wine, which is still 
fermenting, into an old leather bottle which has become stiff 
and hard, the wine will burst it ; but the new wine when 
put into new bottles will only cause them to swell and ex- 
pand, and they will not burst. Moreover, he told us that 
the wine of his truth was new wine, and must be put into 
new bottles. Still we were grieved to give up all the reli- 
gious actions which we had been taught from childhood. 

At another time Jesus declared how all outward actions 
should agree with the inward state ; that to fast when we 
were glad was not a true fast, and made a falsehood in the 
soul ; that to pray merely because the hour of prayer had 
come, when we did not feel the need of any thing from 
God, was not to pray in spirit and truth ; and he warned us 
not to pray, or fast, or give to the poor, in order that men 
should see us and praise us, but only to be seen of God. 

While Jesus was with us, all this seemed good ; for he 
was so full of the power and presence of God, and such a 
tenderness from God looked out of his eyes, that we needed 
not hours of prayer. After he was gone, many said, " This 
is a cold religion. It hath no priests, nor sacrifices, nor days 
of fasting, nor sabbaths, nor feasts, nor ablutions, nor syna- 
gogues. It is hardly any religion at all." Many, therefore, 
went back, and walked no more with us, but said, "The 
Jewish religion is old, and this of Jesus is of yesterday. 
That is spread over the world, and is a great power among 
the nations, so that even the emperor trembles when he hears 
of us ; but this religion of Jesus is a small thing, hiding 
away in caves and in upper chambers, where no man seeth it. 
It hath no solemn rites and awful forms, but is bare and 
naked ; and the soul is cold in such a freezing climate." 

My children, not long since, a messenger of the churches, 
whom the Greeks call an angel, came to this place, sent to 
see the brethren scattered abroad, and to learn of their 
affairs. He brought us news of the state of things in Syria 



150 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

and Galatia, in Asia, and Greece, and Rome. He said this 
same doubt j-et disturbed the peace of the churches, and 
that a certain disciple named Paul (whom, indeed, I had 
known) had said that we were saved from sin only by giv- 
ing our faith to Jesus, and trusting our soul to the mercy of 
God, and not by any keeping of outward sabbaths or out- 
ward sacrifices, or circumcision which is outward in the flesh. 
He said that much indignation was expressed by those of our 
religion who live at Jerusalem, because of this. He told me 
the followers of my old friend Simon Peter (as they now 
call him) declared this to be false, and said that Paul was no 
apostle, for he was not one of the twelve. Peter said that 
these outward acts were necessary" to protect and keep safe 
the inward soul of faith, as the walls of a house are neces- 
sar}^ to keep the cold out of the rooms where the family are 
together. The walls are not a home, for the family makes 
the home; "nevertheless," said Peter, '-the walls are 
needed, likewise, to keep the family safe." Thus Peter 
argued. 

But the messenger of the churches brought with him also 
two rolls, one of them a letter from tliis same Paul to the 
Assembly of the Disciples in the great city which men call 
Rome. In this letter Paul taught that no man need do any 
of these Jewish actions in order to be a disciple of Jesus, 
and to escape from sin and Hades. AVhen we repent, and 
turn from our sins, we have onl}^ to trust in God mani- 
fested to us in Jesus as our best friend and helper. Thus 
Paul declared. And when I remember how Jesus, though a 
Jew, refused to wash his hands, and to do such acts of reli- 
gion, I am indeed satisfied that this Paul, whom I believe to 
be my old companion, is right ; and that the friend of my 
youth, Simon, is wrong, in this matter. 

The other roll which the messenger brought was that 
which we also have read in our assembly, called a Letter to 
the Hebrews of the Dispersion. It besought them not to 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 151 

leave Jesus, and not to go back to the Jewish religion, be- 
cause of its priests and sacrifices, its temple and festivals. 
"For," saith this writer (arguing as I used to hear the dis- 
ciples of Philo teach in Alexandreia) , "we have in Christ 
■Jesus the essential thing, — the core and heart, of which these 
are only the husks and the shell." He saith, " The Christ is 
our priest : the Christ is our passover ; the Christ is our 
sacrifice ; and the Christ in the soul is our sabbath of rest." 
But you, my children, who have never known any thing of 
these Jewish ceremonies, understood not well this Letter 
to the Hebrews, nor could you see what was the meaning 
thereof. At the e^^d, it told of those who had lived and died 
in faith, showing how much greater is faith than all outward 
ceremonies. 

I have left my story, speaking of these things. Now I 
will return to my first knowledge of our master. 

Early in the morning Matthew came to my bedside, and 
touched me on the shoulder, and said, "Arise, Thomas ! We 
go soon to hear the teacher, for he will speak to the people 
concerning the kingdom and the laws thereof ; and already 
the multitude passeth by the house, through the streets, on 
their way to the mountain near by, where he will teach to- 
day." And I arose quickly , and when we had eaten dates, 
and a cluster of grapes, and bread, we went unto the moun- 
tain. 

The people, both men and women, were gathered together 
along the sides of the hill above a little valley. They sat 
on the grass, under the shade of the palms and oaks, which 
grew side by side in this fortunate land. And the murnuu- 
of waters descending from above was in our ears. 

Then I saw the teacher come down the mountain from 
above, where he had passed the niglit in prayer (as some of 
his disciples told me), while the disciples slept on the grass. 
Such was the custom of the teacher. He had no (Ixed hours 



152 THE LEGEXD OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

of prayer, lilve the Pharisees ; but when he went forth to 
an}^ work, or when he did any important action, he prayed 
beforehand for power to do it aright, calling on God, as a 
father, to aid him in his task. Thus the Helper was always 
near when he needed help. But because he did not pray 
according to the prayer of formality, at fixed seasons, men 
said of him that he had no religion, but was only a man of 
morality. Thus men judge by appearances, and not right- 
eously. 

And, behold ! as I drew near, the teacher had seated him- 
self on a stone to speak. And when he had lifted up his 
eyes toward the people, who sat around and above him on 
the sides of the hill, he opened his mouth, and spoke of the 
kingdom of heaven, which we all hoped soon to see in our 
land. Fu'st of all he told us who were to belong to the 
kingdom, and how happy they would be as servants of the 
King who was to come, even the Messiah. I well remember 
the first word he spoke ; for it fell on my ear with a tone and 
a power which aroused my whole soul to listen. The word 
was, — 

"Blessed! " 

And then he paused, and looked around with eyes full of 
pity, as he saw the poor people, so wretched, so forlorn, 
hungry, and half-naked (for there were many of these who 
had been plundered of all they had b}' Roman soldiers) , and 
many sick, also ; others, moreover, who were rich and well, 
with some rulers and scribes among them. And all listened 
with eagerness for the words of his lips. And I repeat the 
thought as I recall it, but not the very words ; for these 
escape my memory. 

' ' Blessed are ye poor, ' ' said he again ; ' ' for ye are nearer 
to the kingdom of God than if ye were rich." And then he 
stopped a moment, and spoke once more : — 

' * But blessed are ye whose souls are poor ; for the king- 
dom of God has come unto you to make your souls rich. 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 153 

"Blessed are ye that weep now, and are sad; for your 
sadness shall be turned to joy." 

And he went on, and pronounced those really blessed and 
fortunate who were persecuted, hated, and reviled, and whom 
men should cast out, because they were the friends of the 
Son of man. 

And I said to Matthew, " Who, then, is this Son of man?" 
But he made no reply. 

And the teacher went on, and said, "Blessed are the 
meek, and the merciful, and the peacemakers, and the pure 
in heart, and all who seek to be righteous." And he said 
that all these were the true sons of the kingdom. And I 
was greatly astonished, both at the majesty with which he 
spoke, and at the nature of his teaching. 

I would tell you, O my children, of his face and his per- 
son ; but it is not easy to do this, not though I could speak 
as the Greek poet Homer does when he describes the gods. 
You remember, my children, that I once read to you, from 
the heroic songs called " The Iliads," a description of 
Zeus, and another of the far-darting Phoebus.' When I 
looked at the teacher, these verses came to my mind. Some- 
times such an authority was in his voice, that the heavens 
above and the earth around seemed to assent to his words, 
and the air vibrated in answer. His eyes were filled with a 
heavenly light. He spoke as a king, and strength stood 
behind, and obedience went before him. Whenever that 
voice of command came from his lips, no one could resist its 
power. But now he spoke with another accent, so musical, 
yet so strong, that all listened with hushed attention. AVhen 
he said, ' ' Blessed are ye poor, ' ' a whole world of pity was 
in the words ; and when he said afterward, " Blessed are 
those whose souls are poor, ' ' a still more heavenly tenderness 
was there, so that light came into the eyes of the wretched 
people. 

But I comprehended not fully the meaning of these words. 



154 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Why bless the spu-ituall}^ poor, who were sinners and break- 
ers of the hiw? The great teachers whose words had come 
to me had ever said, "Blessed are the rich in spirit, blessed 
are the virtuous ; " but this teacher, though he blessed the 
pure in heart, also blessed the sinful. 

Afterward I learned, my children, the hidden meaning of 
tliis saying. The doctors of the law taught us to obey, and 
that strictly, every command of God and every tradition of 
the elders, that we might become pure from sin. Those who 
attained unto this perfect righteousness were said to be 
blessed. But what became of those who reached it not? 
There was no comfort for them, no hope. '• He who doeth 
these things shall live by them." Therefore, while our teach- 
ers helped good men to grow l3ette'', they gave no courage to 
bad men to grow good. But Jesus brought good news for 
the bad men who were tired of their badness, for sinners 
whose desire was to escape from their sin. He told them to 
love their enemies ; since God, also, loved his enemies, send- 
ing sun and rain on the evil and the good. For though they 
were indeed sinful, yet was God their best friend ; though 
their hearts were dead in evil, the breath of the life of God 
was within them to make their souls come forth out of their 
graves. Was not this blessed news for the spiritualh^ poor? 
All the prophets had blessed the spiritually rich : this one 
came to bring pardon, peace, courage, and hope to the spiritu- 
ally poor. 

I listened, amazed, to these words, not understanding them. 
He continued, and said that our nation was the salt to keep 
the earth from being corrupt. For this end was Israel 
created. But, if the very salt was bad, there was nothing 
else by which it could be salted. And he said that if the 
Jewish nation ceased from righteousness, and became corrupt, 
the Lord would suffer it to be trampled down and destroyed. 
Instead of this, it ought to be a great light to lighten the 
whole world. 



li 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 155 

And because men had said he was a sabbath-breaker, and 
one who profaned the law, and taught others to do the same, 
he declared that he came, not to destroy the law or the 
prophets, or any good thing, but to make it better by filling 
it full of more abundant life. Nothing which is a real part 
of God's law, though it be but the smallest letter in the books 
of Moses, but must remain until it grows up into something 
yet higher and better. 

I found afterward that these words were true ; for though 
our master did not keep the sabbath outwardly, after the cus- 
tom of the Pharisees, he filled the heart full of a peace 
which made every day a sabbath of rest. He gave us an 
inward sabbath, instead of an outward sabbath. He gave 
us inward purit}^ and truth in the soul, instead of hands 
washed often with water. Instead of a sin-offering on the 
altar at Jerusalem, he showed us God's heavenly tenderness 
and gracious love, by making his own life an offering and 
a sacrifice ; so that sin fled away before the joy of being 
one with our Father. He fulfilled every thing ; he destroyed 
nothing. He made religion more religious, and goodness 
more good. 

All that he taught filled us with new astonishment. He 
first roused and then appeased the mind, by his wonderful 
words. What he said appeared strange to us in the begin- 
ning, and this aroused our mind ; but, after we had meditated 
a little, we saw how true it was, and we were appeased. His 
mind was ever at liberty, — as free as the birds, which have 
no paths in the air, but fly as they will. All the old roads, 
marked and fenced in by the traditions of the fathers durhig 
many hundred years, he moved over as if they existed not. 
Tradition, custom, law, opinion, rules of belief and conduct, 
he did not indeed oppose and contend against, but rather 
acted and spoke as if they had never been. Nevertheless, we 
found, that, though he set aside the outward law of the doc- 
tors, he obeyed an inward law of God, written in his heart. 



156 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYML's. 

He cast aside the righteousness of the Pharisees, not that he 
might have less righteousness, but more, and of a better 
kind. It greatly surprised us when he said, "Unless your 
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes 
and Pharisees, 3'e shall in no case enter into the kingdom of 
heaven ; " for the Pharisees were the wisest and best people 
in the land. I who had lived among them knew that many 
were clothed in pretence and falsehood, and seemed pious 
outwardl}^ but inwardly allowed all selfish desires. But I 
knew many others who were not hypocrites, but truly good 
men, full of knowledge and good will, loving and helping 
other men. If these good Pharisees might not enter the 
kingdom of God, which was to be soon established in Judaea, 
who, then, might belong to it? 

I know at this time, m}^ children, the meaning of his 
words. Every man who is really in the kingdom of heaven 
has in his heart the new power of love, which lifts him up 
above the painful goodness of the Pharisees. If he be not 
better than the}^ now are, yet he has within a growing virtue. 
Thus a stone may be larger than an acorn ; j^et, as the acorn 
is alive, it may grow into a tree much larger than the stone. 
Listen to this parable : — 

A father had two children. One of them obeyed him, 
but did not love him : the other loved him. but did not obey 
him. The first went early to the field every morning, and 
worked hard all day, and did all his father commanded ; 
but his face had no gladness in it, and no tenderness. He 
did what he was told to do, but no more. He smiled not, 
neither said he ever a kind word to any man, nor a word of 
love unto his father. The second child slept until the sun 
was high, and often forgot the commandments of his father ; 
but he loved his father, and mourned over his faults, and 
so at last he learned to do right, and became better and better 
every day. Thus his love for his father caused his goodness 
to grow up into all things excellent. 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 157 

The righteousness of the Pharisees was like that of the 
first son ; but that which Jesus desired was the other. The 
righteousness of the Pharisees was to obey the whole law, 
in order to escape the torments of Grehenna, and to flee the 
wrath of the great judge, Yahveh : the righteousness of 
the Christ came forth from love for the Father, who is both 
in heaven and on earth, who forgiveth our sins, and helpeth 
us to conquer them. 

Thus the kingdom of God and its righteousness would not 
come so much with doing as with loving. He who is in- 
wardly a lover of God cannot help doing something good. 
When we make pure the spring, the water flowing from it will 
be pure ; for out of the heart proceed all good and all bad 
actions. A good heart is like a good tree, which, without 
an}^ painful endeavor, brings forth good fruit. A bad heart 
is like an evil tree, which cannot by any effort bring forth 
good fruit, but only sour or hard fruit, not to be eaten. 

Thus he showed us that real murder is not in the hand 
which strikes the deadly blow, but in the heart which hates 
another. Anger is murder in its seed : when the anger 
breaks out into passionate rebuke, the seed has begun to 
grow up into a stalk ; but when the anger has become con- 
tempt and hatred for another, then it only needs opportunity 
and provocation to become murder in act. It is full-grown 
murder in the heart, and carries the fires of Gehenna with it. 
The soul of one who hateth and despiseth his brother, already 
tastes the fire of hell. So taught our teacher in this dis- 
course on the mountain. 

Tlien he also taught us that we should be like God, who 
forgiveth his enemies, and doeth good unto them alway. "If 
you will be true children of God," said he, "forgive your 
enemies, bless them, pray for them, help them in their trials, 
be pitiful to them in their sorrows." But this was more than 
I could believe or do. What ! — forgive and love the cruel 
Antipas, the Romans who tortured our people, the false 



158 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Pharisee who had ruined my noble Miriam? No, truly, 
never ! I could bear no more, and I turned away. I 
walked to a distance and sat down, my mind distracted. 
But I heard from time to time, where I sat, the music of the 
master's voice, which drew me toward him. Slowly I re- 
turned ; and, as I drew near, he was sajing some such words 
as these : " No man can serve two masters ; for, when they 
command different acts, he must obey the first and disobey 
the last, or he must obey the last and disobey the first. Let 
your eye be single, and your body shall be full of light. 
Therefore serve God only and wholly, and help only his 
cause of truth and love ; then will all things come well at the 
last. (What good doth anxiety, whether it be anxiety about 
your body or about your soul, about your earthly or your 
heavenly meat? Trust in God. Do what is right, and trust 
in God, then all that you need you shall have.jf 

"Verily," I said, "if I could only believe this! But 
how can I in a world so filled with darkness and evil ? " So 
I turned away once more ; for, though my heart drew me 
unto Jesus, I was not j^et able to believe what he said con- 
cerning the kingdom which was to come down from God out 
of heaven, to be established in the midst of our land, and 
to which all nations should flow. Then he went down the 
mountain ; and great numbers of people went with him, the 
man so attracted them. They suffered him not to depart 
from among them ; such great strength, peace, and hope came 
unto them from his words. His speech came down on their 
weary hearts like rain, after many weeks of drought, on a 
parched land. As they passed by me, one said to another, 
" I heard never any man speak like this man, not even Rabbi 
Onias." And another said, "His words are with power, 
and are weighty with truth. The words of the scribes are 
light as chaff, but his are heavy as gold." And these were 
common people, who knew not how to utter their thoughts, or 
to give a reason for them. Then I, who had also felt his 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 159 

speech to be with power, sat still in the place, seeking to 
understand with myself why I felt thus ; for I was attracted 
and repelled at once. I could not accept what he said, 
for all my belief seemed to me to be wholly different 
from his. Yet I longed to believe his teaching ; for it was 
as the heavenly light when the sun rises through the clefts 
of the mountains, and the white mists melt away before his 
face. 

As I pondered on this prophet's speech, in which he 
plainly told the whole plan of the coming kingdom, and the 
work of the coming King, I saw how opposite it was to my 
own belief and expectation, and to that of the great teachers 
of the Jews. His plan was to conquer our oppressors by 
loving them and blessing them. His belief was in a power 
of love and truth which can overcome wickedness. He had 
faith that the force of Caesar was not equal to the might of 
goodness. The Messiah, indeed, as he taught, was to come, 
and to reign, but far otherwise than most of our people 
thought. The Jewish nation was truly to possess the earth, 
but by being its teachers, helpers, comforters. Yahveh was 
to be obeyed by all the nations, but by being shown to them 
as a heavenly Father and an infinite tender Friend. Jeru- 
salem was in truth to be the metropolis of the earth, because 
it was to be a fountain pouring forth forever fresh water of 
life for the healing of the nations. This whole doctrine, 
nevertheless, seemed to me vague, airy, poetic, and impos- 
sible. 

And yet his speech was very full of confidence. He 
spoke as one who knew certainly the truth he taught. I 
saw, indeed, that what he said in this proclamation of his 
faith was to him substantial as the rock whereon he sat. No 
tremor of hesitation or impatience disturbed his calm utter- 
ance. And, the more I pondered, the more I saw how each 
part fitted into every other, and made an entire whole, want- 
ing nothing. I had seen in Alexandria men who made 



160 THE LEGEND OF TH03IAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

curious cabinets for the rich, into which their jewels could 
be concealed in secret divisions, behind small doors. Once I 
saw a skilful workman engaged in making one out of the 
hard black wood brought down the Nile. And he told me 
that there were more than two hundred joints in the cabinet, 
which must exactl}^ fit, or all would be awry. And when he 
had made it, and put it together, his measures were so 
perfect, that ever}^ part was perfectly joined with every 
other. So I saw that in this doctrine, to me so new and 
strange, of the coming One and his kingdom, every part 
fitted every other. For truly he began, not by calling to- 
gether the powerful, the rich, the strong, but the poor, the 
sinful, the wretched. But this was wise, not only because 
it would show the Romans and Herod Antipas that no rebel- 
lion was intended against them, but also because these poor 
people could better receive the new doctrine of love. Also 
he said that the Jewish nation were called to be the light of 
the world, and that they would do the work of God by 
letting their light shine. His meaning I believed to be like 
that which I had heard in Egypt, — that God had made dif- 
ferent nations for different duties. The Greeks were made to 
teach beaut}^ to men b}^ their arts ; the Romans were to be 
an iron chain binding the whole world together by means of 
power ; but the Jews were to be salt, to purify its moral 
nature, and light, to show to it goodness and God. By 
using force against the Romans, we took weapons which 
were not ours ; and in the use of such weapons they could 
always defeat us. But, if we used only the weapons of truth 
and love, we must conquer. 

The Greek philosophers, whose writings I had studied in 
Alexandreia, always wished to say something new. They 
sought for some thoughts, opinions, or statements which had 
never before been uttered. They put every thing into new 
forms. Thales said that " water," that is, the element, the 
fluid, '' is the root of all things." Another came, and said. 



I MEET JESUS OP NAZIRAH. IGl 

*'Air is the origin of all things;" another said, "Num- 
bers;" another said, "The One and AH;" another said, 
"The Self -Existent ; " another said, " Generation and De- 
struction; " another said, "The four Elements ; " another, 
"Contradictions and Reconciliations;" another, "Atoms." 
Each new philosopher denied all that the others had said, 
and began again as if nothing had been done before. This 
made men feel that there was no progress anywhere ; and 
thus we grew weary of such studies, which seemed to lead 
to no end. It was like the wind, which whirleth about 
continually, and returneth again according to its circuit. It 
ended always in new phrases and a new system of words. 

But this teacher, Joshua-beu-Yosheph, sought no such 
novelty of words or thoughts. Yet, while he spoke, I felt 
that he made all things new. God, man, nature, life, all 
became new under the power of his teaching. 

Many of his sayings were like those of the rabbis re- 
ported to us in the traditions of the fathers. Thus, when 
he said that " not the smallest letter of the law, not even the 
little letter Jod, or the point on the Daleth which distin- 
guishes it from Resh, should pass from the law, till all was 
fulfilled," I remembered like sayings. One rabbi said that 
the letter Jod came and prostrated itself before God, and 
said, " O eternal Lord, thou hast taken me out of the 
name of the blessed Sarai, the holy woman!" And the 
Lord answered, "In truth I have taken thee from the end 
of a woman's name ; but I will put thee at the beginning of 
a man's name, even Hoshea, whom I will call Je-hoshea." 

Thus, too, he always in his teaching called Yahveh "Our 
Father," and " Your Father," and " Our Father in heaven." 
These were words well known to me, and often uttered ; 
yet, as they came from his lips, they had a power of tender 
love in them which made me sure that no one was ever truly 
a son of God until this time. 

There was nothino- new in the words when tliis toaciior 



162 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

prayed that God's kingdom might come ; for I remembered 
the axiom in the Jewish schools, "That prayer wherein is 
no mention of the kingdom of God is not a prayer." 

There was nothing new in the ivords, when he said, " Thy 
will be done on earth, as in heaven;" for Rabbi Eliezer 
said, "What is the short prayer? It is this, 'O God, do 
thy will in heaven, and give quietness of spirit to those who 
fear thee below.' " 

And, when he spoke of the mote and the beam, I was 
reminded of the same proverb as I had heard it in the 
schools. Thus Rabbi Tarphon said, "Will any in this age 
endure reproof? For if I say to any, ' Cast out of thine eye 
that mote,' he will reply, 'O rabbi, there is a beam in 
thine own eye.' " 

Also in that great saying which is now called ' ' the com- 
mandment made of gold," "Do to others all things ye 
would they should do unto you," there was no newness in 
the letter. For I remember hearing that a Gentile once 
came to Shammai, and said, " Tell me the substance of the 
whole law, and all things essential therein, while I stand on 
one foot. " And Shammai drove him away in anger. But 
he came to Hillel with this request ; and Hillel replied, 
" Yea, verily, the whole law is here : ' That which is odious 
to thyself, do it not to thy neighbor. ' ' ' 

Therefore I said, 'jiThe letter of this teaching is not 
new. It is not a new framework of thought, uttered in 
sayings not heard before ; but it is the old and everlastijig 
truth of all the religions of men, made alive once more for all 
men to believe : it is a new spirit, making the letter new. % 
In spring all nature appears new, though the leaves of the 
fig and the vine are no novelties, but shaped exactly as they 
were last year. The power of this master was, that he was 
so full of new life that he made all things new wherever he 
went. All the old things had passed away ; and we, too, 
became like new men ourselves, being verily full of a new 
life. 



I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 163 

I also saw, as I meditated on this speech, that he stripped 
off from our law all that was like a wall of partition around 
our nation ; making the law spiritual, and thus universal. All 
righteousness came from the heart : the outward part was 
the husk and the shell alone. To pray was not to recite the 
eighteen prayers of our ritual, but to be alone with God in 
the closet of one's soul. The true fast was not to appear 
sad, or to rend one's garments, and put ashes on one's 
head : it was to give up our own joy for that of another, 
and to be cheerful when we acted thus, not appearing unto 
men to be fasting at all. 

But that which he taught with such power and such strong 
confidence, that it filled our hearts with fire, and our eyes with 
happy tears, was a perfect trust in our heavenly Father as 
our nearest friend. While he spake, it seemed as though 
I could never doubt or distrust any more that perfect love. 
Alas ! too soon, the old doubts returned, and new clouds 
came up to veil from me the face of that infinite tenderness. 



164 THE LEGEND OF TH031AS. CALLED DIDYAIL'S. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE CONTEESTON OF JHRIAM. I BECO:NrE A DISCIPLE OF 

JESUS, AND ONE OF THE TWELVE MISSIONARIES. 

I SAT alone in the shade of a terebinth- tree, for the teacher 
and the multitude were gone. " In truth," I said to myself, 
"the hearer was right who said that this man's teaching is 
not like that of the scribes. The scribes debate concerning 
every question, and give many reasons for the one side, and 
many for the other. They fill their mouths with arguments, 
and what one says another denies. They are ever seeking, 
but care little for finding ; and thus a mist of doubt hangs 
over all matters. If Hillel and his school say this, then 
Shammai and his school say something different. In truth, 
they declare this uncertainty to be good ; since it leaves the 
minds of the learned men free, so that the}' examine always, 
3'et are not they tied to any belief. But this makes of truth 
something for our amusement, and not that by which we 
live." For I had felt in myself the misery of an empty 
soul. 

But our new teacher, Jesus, seemed not like a seeker after 
truth, but as one who had found it ; for, if a man has found 
a diamond, he does not give reasons to prove that he has 
found a diamond, but rather opens his hand, and shows it. 
Jesus opened his hand, and showed us the jewels of truth 
which he held therein. He gave no reasons, he used no 
arguments, but simply said, "Look, and see." Thus he 
differed from the scribes, and spoke with authority. 

I have heard men speak with authority of another sort. 



THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 165 

They say, ' ' Believe me : I know I am right. No one knows 
so much as I." Such men have the authority of will, but 
not that of knowledge. They believe as they choose, and so 
speak with a tone of violence ; and, if opposed, they speak 
more loudly, and bear down the opposers. But he who is 
certain of what he says is not violent. If I talk with. blind 
men, who see not the sun, I do not become wroth against 
them, but seek to explain to them what I see, saying, " Here 
is a house, and here a tree, and here a lake of water." 
Thus spake Jesus, and we appeared to ourselves as blind 
men while he spake, and that he alone had sight. 

Moreover, I continued my discourse with myself, fathom- 
ing the secret of his strange power; and I said, "If two 
men sat on the Mount of Olives, over against Jerusalem, but 
with their backs turned toward it, they might argue concern- 
ing the city, even as the scribes argue. They would dispute 
concerning the temple, as to where it was placed, also con- 
cerning the Tower of Antonia, and the upper city and the 
lower, each man giving reasons for his opinion. But if 
another sat by them, with his face turned toward the city, he 
would not argue, but rather say, 'Behold ! there ariseth from 
the rocks the vast walls, like those of a castle, with towers 
upon them ; and within riseth higher another wall, with huge 
stones, built to last forever ; and still within, and above both, 
I see the Holy Place, and before it a gateway covered with 
a golden vine and great multitudes of clusters of golden 
grapes.' Thus would he describe the things he saw, with- 
out argument. And those who listened would say, ' Verily, 
this man knoweth what he seeth, else how could he describe 
it, thus making it appear before our eyes ? He pauseth not 
to consider what words to use, but answereth every question 
at once.' " And thus Jesus spoke ; for he appeared to look 
inwardly at some vision revealed to his soul. 

But a part of his authority was also in tliis, that, as he 
spake, something within my heart replied, assenting to his 



166 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYJIUS. 

speech. Though my miud disbelieved, my heart in that 
moment believed. My soul was like the rock or hill, which 
returns every word of a speaker. Something deep down 
within me, below all my opinions, repeated like an echo 
his words. For the moment I also believed in God and 
in a divine law. I trembled on the edge of a new faith, and 
I believed in the midst of m}^ unbelief. Yet, when the sound 
of his voice died away, the darkness came back over my 
mind. I dropped my face into my hands, and sat long, 
without any thought, but with an jmpty soul. 

Soon steps drew near ; and, lifting up my eyes, I saw 
women approaching me. A voice fell on my ear to which all 
my heart leaped up in response. The face turned toward me : 
it was the face of Miriam. She knew me at once ; for her 
face lighted up with something of the former fire, and she 
said a few words to the other women. Then she left them, 
and came toward me. They passed on, and once more I 
was alone with Miriam. 

The same, but how different ! The proud look was gone ; 
a shadow of melancholy rested on her face : yet courage 
and hope were in her eyes, and tender sympathy dwelt on 
her lips. A womanly softness such as I had never seen in 
her before filled the air around her like a halo, as she stood 
before me. Her face showed that she had been through the 
most dreadful grief, and that rivers of tears had flowed over 
her cheeks ; yet amid all there was a serene peace, and the 
marks of a mind which had become balanced, steadfast, and 
at one with itself. 

And I cried with a great cry, " O Miriam, Miriam ! " 

"Yes, Thomas," said she, "I am Miriam again, thy 
friend. The demons have been cast out of me, I trust not 
again to return. The mad woman whom thou sawest before 
is gone. The cruel fiends who possessed me have departed. 
I have found one who has shown to me that God loves me, 
and has brought me to see myself as God sees me. I 



THE CONVERSION OF MIPJAM. 167 

see my sin in all its horror, and yet I have hope. I have 
repented of the wickedness which I have committed, and 
trust to save my soul alive by doing henceforth what is 
right and good." 

" Blessed, blessed be God ! " said I, forgetting that I had 
no faith in God. "Blessed be God! who would not that 
such a soul as thine should perish. — But tell me, O Mmam ! 
how came this to pass? " 

" I will tell thee the whole story," she replied, " although 
it is painful. When I saw thee in Tiberias, my heart was 
full of evil. There was falsehood there ; for I lived a lie, 
professing to love a man whom I hated. There was murder 
there, since I longed every day to deliver the tetrarch to 
death through the Romans. Black pride was there ; for I 
believed myself strong enough to rise to the highest place, 
and to become a power, like that of the Queen of Egypt, 
to rule the empire. I said I should restore the kingdom to 
Israel ; and in my madness I even hoped to be the Messiah, 
and by the Roman power to establish the worship of our 
God, the living and true God, throughout the world. Now 
I have learned that a man cannot create good by means of 
evil, and that Satan will never cast out Satan. Then, too, I 
was in love with luxury. I loved the arts of Greece and 
Rome. I heaped up wealth, that I might satisfy myself 
with gorgeous robes and jewels, with statues and paintings, 
golden and silver chariots drawn by the horses of the East, 
palaces of marble. Selfishness was in my heart : it was 
hard as the lower millstone. I was full of unbelief. I had 
a form of faith in Yahveh and the temple, but none of the 
power of God was in me. I was inwardly possessed by a 
spirit of despair ; for all at which I aimed I knew to be 
empty, dead, rotten, but I had no hopeof any thing higher." 

She paused, and looked at me, her eyes full of tears. 
"And yet God had mercy — he had great mercy." 

She went on: "In the midst of my pride, when all my 



168 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

hopes were swollen, like the bags of wine in the season of 
fermentation, came the destruction. A haught}" spirit goes 
before a fall. 

" There is a man who flattered me and misled me. He is 
the son of dark wa^^s and secret plans. He has onl}^ one 
purpose, one wish, — the triumph of his part3% the Pharisees, 
and by their means the conquest of the world. His name 
is Ben-Gamlah. He spareth no one who stands in the way 
of his work. He corrupted my soul by his seeming holi- 
ness, but he was like that marble tomb on the top of the 
neighboring summit. How fair it seems, with its slender 
columns, but how foul within with rottenness ! Such a 
one is Ben-Gamlah. He taught me that falsehood, murder, 
cruelty, were right, when done for Yahveh ; that whatever 
was done to exalt our nation was done for Yahveh ; and that 
what was done for the Pharisees was for the nation. He 
made me believe that Moses was not so great as the rabbis ; 
that they could forgive all sin ; that to serve them -and their 
cause would make me like Deborah and Esther. He flattered 
my pride : he said that no woman such as I had risen in 
Israel ; that I could lead Antipas as I would ; and that, by 
feeding his ambition, I could lead him to his ruin. I was 
taught by Gamlah to persuade Herod to go to Rome to 
obtain a larger dominion : and when the emperor, jealous of 
his designs, should banish him to Gaul, I might easily be- 
come the wife of a Roman prince, and one day Queen of 
Rome. And he taught me that all this was to be done for 
the glory of God. He was cunning as a fox, and seemed 
white as a dove. Yet how could I believe him ? I know not. 
My hungry pride, and my selfish love of glory and luxury, 
were my ruin. 

''But I was not all he needed. He could not control me 
utterly. Something better remained in me which resisted 
his dark designs. It may be that he thought, if I became 
powerful, I should cease to be his slave. It is certain that 



THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 169 

he at last determined on iny ruin ; and, when that implacable 
soul has determined on any thing, he spares no means to 
bring it about. 

" His plan was to give Antipas another favorite in my 
place. He chose Herodias, the wife of the brother of Antipas. 
The nature of Antipas is feeble and suspicious. He is not 
strong enough for any generous love or lasting ambition. 
The jealousy which runs in the veins of his race is in him 
also. Our natures were opposite : he knew it. He saw that 
there was no real reverence nor love for him in my soul. He 
suspected and feared me. I easily controlled him when I 
was with him ; but, when I was away, I think he hated me 
for that very supremacy of my spirit. 

" One day, as I sat in my palace, surrounded by my women, 
a Roman centurion entered with a file of soldiers, and put 
in my hands a tablet, on which was written an order from 
Antipas, commanding me immediately to leave Tiberias, and 
never to enter it again, nor to appear in the tetrarch's pres- 
ence, under pain of death. A mist came before my eyes : 
the chamber turned round, and the floor shook as with an 
eartliquake. When I recovered my reason, I demanded to 
see Rabbi Ben-Gamlah. He came at once, calm as that lake 
below us. I showed him the tablet, and demanded the mean- 
ing of the words written thereon. 

" ' It means,' said he quietly, ' that thou hast proved unfit 
for thy work ; and that Yahveh, the God of Abraham, hath 
chosen another in thy place.' 

" ' This is thy doing, demon ! ' I cried. 

"'Even so, in part,' he answered, with unmoved face. 
' I, also, am an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Neither 
thou nor I can alter what we are. We do what was ordained 
for each of us before the foundation of the earth. The 
Lord through me raised thee up ; now by my hands he 
plucketh thee down. Thou art not of the right temper for the 
work ; thou art too soft on one side, too violent on the other. 



170 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

And, worst of all, thou hast thioe own thoughts, and art not 
willing to be led.' 

" ' Have I fulfilled, or not, all thy commandments? ' said I. 

' ' ' Most of my commandments hast thou fulfilled ; but I 
saw that thine obedience to me grew ever weaker, and that 
sooner or later thou wouldst choose thine own course, not 
mine. Think not of it. AVe are all dry leaves, driven 
hither and thither by a mighty rushing wind. When my 
work is done, I, too, shall fall.' Then he wrapped his mantle 
around him, and strode away. 

"'And this is the end,' I said, 'the end of my mighty 
ambition. Oh, fool, fool ! thou who thoughtest thyself so 
strong, so proud of thy great intelligence. I have been an 
Egyptian puppet, pulled secretly by wires in the hands of 
this dark and narrow soul. Because I was filled with many 
thoughts, and he knew but one, he has led me into this abyss 
of sin and ruin.' 

"I rose, and staggered to the door. All my attendants 
had deserted me ; and I went forth from the palace, and 
through the streets, alone. Alone I went forth from the cit}^, 
and along the shore. Men were near me on the beach : they 
drew their boats by ropes to the strand. I perceived the 
water dripping from their hands. I beheld a single sail 
swaying to and fro on the surface, close to the path of light 
made by the moon over the water. I saw the men gaze 
fixedly at me as I passed on. But my mind was a blank, 
and I knew not what I did. 

" At last I found myself at my own home, just outside the 
walls of Migdol. All my family were gone ; but I knew 
that my father's grave was near, and I went and sat upon it, 
and looked down at the grass, and talked to him who slept 
below. 'Yes, father,' I murmured, the words coming of 
themselves from my lips, ' here is thy poor, wicked, foolish 
child, of whom thou wast so proud. She has become a child 
of shame, and has made thy name a shameful thing, and has 



THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 171 

dishonored her nation. Why was I ever born ? What grave 
is deep enough to hide my misery ? ' 

"And yet, Thomas, in that dreadful hour, when all my sins 
came over me like a winter torrent over a sleeping valley, I 
thought less of myself than of the evil in the world. It was 
to me as if a great horror of darkness rested on all nature 
and all life. A worm was at the root of every flower. 
'Vanity,' I cried, — 'all is vanity! There is no God, no 
Yahveh, nothing but black, iron, deadly fate. There is no 
goodness, no sin.' 

' ' Morning had dawned while I was thus plunged ever 
deeper into a woe without remedy. Suddenly I felt a soft in- 
fluence go over my soul, like the air from Karmel upon a hot 
cheek. I raised my eyes. There stood before me one with a 
face, oh, so calm, so strong, so heavenly ! with eyes which 
searched my soul, and yet searched it so graciously. His 
companions were a little space distant, on the path. He had 
left them, and had come to me. 

" 'Woman,' said he, — and his voice was like the music 
of angels, pure, strong, and tender, — ' why weepest thou ? 
What is thy woe ? Whence is thy despair ? There is still 
hope for thee and for all.' 

"His look, his words, drew the poison from my heart. He 
sat on a stone near by, while his disciples rested at a little 
distance. And I told him all, — all my life, — all my hope 
and ambition, my selfishness, my cruel hatreds, my unbelief, 
my despair. He said words to ^e which sometimes pene- 
trated like the knife of the surgeon, and sometimes healed 
like the physician's balm. He led me out of myself, and led 
me toward God. As he spoke, God drew very near : an 
infinite, blessed tenderness melted my heart in tears, which 
were no more bitter, but hopeful. I forgot even his presence 
in the wonderful sense of the presence of God. And, when 
I looked at him, I saw not him, but I saw my Father in 
heaven speaking through him, looking out of his eyes. He 



172 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

seemed so one with God b}^ his divine faith, that he made 
me also one with God ; and I said in mj^ soul, ' "Whosoever 
seeth this man seeth the Father.' 

'' And I sobbed forth, ' But can I be forgiven — can I ever 
be forgiven — m}^ sin is so great, so devihsh? ' 

"He answered, 'When thou art ready to forgive, thou 
canst be forgiven. God has the same law for himself and 
for us. Canst thou forgive Antipas and Ben-Gamlah? ' 

" I shuddered at these names, and I felt the serpent 
hatred rousing himself again in my heart. ' Oh ! how can I 
forgive those monsters? ' said I. 

" 'Are they greater sinners than thyself, Miriam? Thou 
hast also become the poor slave of evil, as they are the 
slaves of evil. If God is willing to deliver thee from this 
chain, and to set thee free, canst thou not desire that they 
also shall be free from evil, and repent, and be saved? ' 

*' ' I can wish that^' I answered ; ' but I cannot wish them 
well while they remain such demons.' 

"Then he spake, and showed me how God's great love 
flowed over the earth, taking care of good and evil ; how he 
would that all should be saved, and come to the knowledge 
of the truth ; how he taught us to forgive our enemies, even 
thousands of times ; and that his own forgiveness for us is 
as large as that which he commnnds. He said that T might 
be forgiven even now, and that God's forgiving love would 
purify my heart, and show me how to love him. Then as 
he looked into my face, I felt my pride and wrath leaving 
me, and a sweet hope began to stir in my soul. And then 
with* a voice, — oh, how mighty and how tender ! — he said, 
— ^nd that voice, though but a whisper, penetrated into the 
very sources of life, — ' Daughter, be of good cheer, thy sins 
are forgiven thee. ' 

"And, O Thomas! I was almost able to believe it. It 
seemeth to me that faith is like fire, which can kindle the 
same fire when the fuel is ready. The great faith of this 



THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 173 

teacher in the presence and help of God began to create a 
like faith in me. My lost God seemed almost to come back 
to me again. The demons left me ; despair, the most deadly, 
fleeing first of all. The whole world was new. The sun 
shone more bright and warm ; the grass was more green ; 
the very air was full of the love of God. It terrified me, 
this sudden change. How could it last? He saw my fear 
in my eyes, and said, ' It is the gift of God, Miriam, and will 
continue. God taketh back never what he hath once given.' 
" And it is true, Thomas. God hath never wholly taken 
from me the memory of that hour. Clouds returned after 
the rain. Terrible doubts came back. I even became filled 
with doubts concerning /wm, my good and wise teacher. I 
said, 'He knoweth me not. He cannot help me further.' My 
pride rose up in rebellion against him, because I thought he 
despised me, knowing my sin. All the old demons raged, 
and sometimes almost won the victory. But the master 
knew the struggle. Even if he were far off, he knew what 
was in my heart, by some secret divination, and I found him 
near me. Then, with the deep tone which thou hast heard, 
full of heavenly harmony, he called on me to rise, and con- 
quer the demons. Long time I resisted. I thought that 
there was no hope, and that I was only wearying this kind 
friend for no purpose. Thus I opposed his appeals, and 
hardened my heart ; but with infinite patience he waited, 
and his holy purpose was always stronger than my mad wil- 
fulness. I may not say how long this conflict lasted, nor 
how often the demons returned. But the new life hath grown 
deeper every day. It is a new hope, born out of death and 
utter woe. He suffered me at last to keep near him, with 
other women, — with his mother, who is wise and good be- 
yond all women I have known, and his sisters also, and his 
mother's sister. And thus I often hear him speak, and his 
words feed my soul, so that I appear to myself not merely to 
listen and remember, but to eat and drink of his spirit and 
life. But now, Thomas, my frien/1, tell me of thj-self ! " 



174 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Then I told her my whole stor}^ ; for once more I felt that 
we might be friends. Her eyes had no earthly love in them ; 
but they prophesied a friendship such as angels may feel for 
each other in heaven. They bade me answer her without 
reserve. 

When she had heard all, she said, " And now, Thomas, I 
long to have thee share my blessing. We have each gone 
down into the abyss of despair. I have been helped out of 
it by no power or goodness of my own : thou, too, shalt 
taste this divine joy of God's forgiving love in thy heart. 
Let me lead thee to the master, and he will look into thy soul, 
and see what is thine inmost need ; for he knoweth what is in 
men, and their hearts lie open before him as the open scroll 
before the scribe, who can read the ancient language of the 
law, and explain its meaning until all men understand it." 
Then she led me to where the master sat, talking with those 
who stood around. And I wondered, listening, at the gra- 
cious words which proceeded out of his mouth. AV herein lay 
their charm ? As he spoke, it was not merely thought which 
came into the understanding, as when I had listened long 
hours at the feet of the doctors ; but the very spirit of faith, 
hope, and peace, which was in him, seemed to flow into the 
soul of those who listened. I remembered what I had read 
in the Greek rabbi Plato, how that the poet is like that 
stone of attraction which is named a loadstone. If a man 
hang to it an iron ring, the ring becomes full of the spirit 
of the loadstone, and will sustain another ring hanging to it, 
and that another, the life of the first going into all. Such a 
poet, full of the life of God, was our teacher ; and the life 
flowed from him into all who heard, if they listened with 
open hearts. Some, who feared a loss of power from his 
presence, closed their eyes, and their ears, and their hearts, 
and shut out this voice of God. Such freedom, my children, 
does Yahveh give to men, that they may choose or refuse, 
and that no one need be saved against his will. 



THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 175 

When he had finished his words, he looked at Miriam and 
at me, and called us to come to him. Before she could speak, 
he prevented her, saying, "Thomas, I know the soreness of 
thy heart, and thy need, and also I know that thou art true, 
and hast never lied to God. Wilt thou, then, be my disciple, 
and one of my twelve messengers, — to be with me always, 
to hear my words, to see my actions, and go out as a bearer 
of my truth to my people ? ' ' 

And I was greatly astonished and grieved ; for I thought, 
" Surely he cannot know me." Then I tried to speak, but 
could say nothing. 

And the master replied to my thought, " Said I not, 
Thomas, that I knew thy sore need? Those who are whole 
need not a physician, but those who are sick. Thou canst 
not believe now ; but the Lord is patient, and can wait. When 
thou dost believe, thou shalt be my messen^-er to the doubt- 
ers. Meantime remain with me, and listen to my words." 

Thus, my children, I was made one of the twelve missiona- 
ries, though I had no real faith in my soul then, nor until 
long after. Much that ni}^ teacher said I understood not. 
The voice of the spirit often seemed to me like the wandering- 
mists which are lighted by the moonlight, and have no sub- 
stance. It was only what I could touch with my hands, and 
see with my eyes, which was to me real. Yet I loved my 
master greatly, it may be as much as the others loved him ; 
and I trusted his words that I should one day know what I 
knew not then. Thus I let no words of his drop to the 
ground, but put them away in my heart, as the miser puts 
gold into a hidden place. His words were pieces of gold, 
which I hid until I could buy wine and meat with them. 

In those days I had no faith in God. How could I, when 
I thought nothing real but that which I could see, feel, touch, 
taste, or smell? God, a spirit, could not be known by the 
senses, and therefore could not be known at all. We niiglit 
have a feeling concerning him, but could truly not know any 
thin"- of liim. 



176 



THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



Neither believed I in any life to come, but thought that 
when this life ended all would be over ; for to me soul was a 
word which meant the thoughts and feelings which come from 
the motion of the bodily atoms moving to and fro. At 
death all these motions cease : how, then, can one live 
again ? 

Neither believed I that this teacher was the great King who 
was to come. Where were the armies of David, the mighty 
warriors, each taller than Goliath, stronger than Samson? 
Where were the hosts which should trample on the power of 
Rome, of the Herods, of the empires of the East? No! it 
was folly to think that his goodness could ever conquer the 
hosts of evil. He could cure sick bodies and sick souls, 
that I believed ; but how could soft words overcome Eoman 
legions ? how could pity throw down stone walls ? 1 knew 
that in Samson's riddle sweetness came from strength ; but 
when did strength ever come from sweetness ? 

Yet, if he suffered me to become one of his twelve mis- 
sionaries, I would gladly abide with him, and learn of him. 
Though I believed not on him, I already loved him : I loved 
him for what he had done for Miriam ; and in my soul I had 
a hope that I, too, might attain unto a faith like hers. 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 177 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 

There was a mysterious power in this new prophet which 
I much desired to understand. He had a power over dis- 
eases through the minds of the sick. It was as if he con- 
trolled the body through the soul. His words aroused a 
power of life which caused the bodily disease to go out of 
the man, sometimes very speedily. 

I had seen something of the same sort in Egypt. Many 
persons were there skilled in natural magic, knowing the 
secrets of nature and the laws of life, and able to cure dis- 
eases without drugs, — by imposition of hands, or by words 
uttered with power, looking into the eyes of the sick man. 
This I had often witnessed, and could not deny. 1 knew, 
therefore, that the vital power within, which we call soul, 
can be roused by the influence of another soul, and made 
able to put away disease. But in such cases there had been 
failures often ; and some preparations, also, were necessary. 
The magician dressed himself in strange garb, and used 
curious instruments, to rouse amazement in the mind of the 
diseased. Moreover, he took money from those he healed. 
He announced his coming by boys, who cried through the 
place that the great magician had arrived ; and these bo3's 
stood in the market, relating to the people his marvel- 
lous works. But nothing of this was done by Jesus, our 
prophet. He did not cry aloud, nor let his voice be heard in 
the streets : nor did he exhort us to proclaim his wonderful 
works ; but he commanded us to conceal them, and ordered 



178 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

those who were cured not to speak of them. He told them 
to give thanks to God, not to himself. Once, indeed, he 
said to one whom he had healed, that he should go home, 
and tell his friends what great things God had done for him. 
I asked the master why he did this ; and he answered me, 
"There are sleeping people who cannot be aroused, unless by 
a loud cry. But you do not cry aloud with a mighty voice 
when speaking to those who stand near 3'ou, and are awake." 
Then he added, that he sought not to astonish men by his 
works of power, lest they should think more of the power 
than of the truth, but wished to arouse them when their minds 
suffered a palsy. Most of these works he did from the good- 
ness of his heart, because he- had such great compassion for 
the poor and sorrowful ; but he did not ask them to believe 
in him because of these wonders, nor sought to make dis- 
ciples by means of them. It made him ver}" sad when men 
followed him only on account of his mighty works. Bad 
men, he told us, might do deeds of power ; but God was 
seen only in the good acts which any man did. If men 
believed that God sent him, because he did good deeds, then 
he was well pleased ; but when Nicodemus declared that he 
knew Jesus was a teacher from God, because of his wonders, 
he told Nicodemus that he must be wholly changed before 
he could even see the nature of his kingdom. 

Once, when the people had followed him into the wilder- 
ness, and were far from any place where they could buy 
bread, and his disciples had only a few loaves and some 
fishes, he told them to sit down on the grass. He seemed 
filled with a mighty pity for these poor people who followed 
him, because they had no friend nor any helper in their 
misery ; and he was to them such a friend, that they could 
not bear to go away from him. He had crossed the lake 
to escape the crowds, and had gone into a mountain to stay 
some days, until the gatherings had dispersed ; but the poor 
people followed after him, all the way around the upper end 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 179 

of the lake, and came to the place where he was, stauding 
still, watching him. They seemed like sheep, who follow 
blindly wherever the shepherd goes, moving when he moves, 
and standing still when he stops. He told us, "They have 
no other shepherd, these poor sheep, but myself." He asked 
them to sit down on the grass, and taught them of the good- 
ness of God to all his creatures, and that to do good and 
give, brought greater joy to the heart than to receive. So 
the day wore away, and evening drew near ; and we said to 
each other, "Let us ask him to send them away, that they 
may go and buy something to eat. ' ' Thus we spoke ; but 
he replied, telling us to give them to eat out of our own 
stores. And, when we counted what we had brought for 
two days for our own food in the desert, we found we had 
only five loaves, and two fishes to make the bread more 
pleasant to the taste. But he took it, and told the people 
that all men should give to each other ; and, if they gave 
what they had, God would make what they gave enough for 
all, and that, as a proof, he would give them his own food 
to divide among them all. And then he lifted up his hands, 
and asked God to bless us with the food of the heart, to 
make us truly care for others more than for ourselves. The 
prayer was so heavenly, that all my own hunger went away ; 
and tears were falling from many eyes. The people took 
little morsels from his hands, and tasted, and gave it quickly 
to their neighbors. I saw many who had concealed their 
food to keep it for their own use ; and the}^, also, brought 
it forward to be blessed, and gave it speedily to each other. 
Thus, as he continued to speak, we all sat in heavenly places, 
and ate the food of angels, each caring for others more than 
for himself. When all had eaten, Jesus told us to gather up 
the fragments which remained, that nothing be lost ; for he 
always taught us to reverence the gifts of God. He said, 
that, as we would not throw away carelessly the wooden toy 
which a friend had carved for us with much pains, so we 



180 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ought not heedlessly to squander and waste what the infinite 
Father had wisely and carefully made for us all. Thus we 
gathered up the fragments, and they filled twelve baskets ; 
and men said it was a mighty work of power, which had 
caused the few loaves suddenly to grow into a great number. 
I, too, thought it a mighty and wonderful work ; but I 
thought it was not done to the bread, but to the souls of 
the men, by creating pity for each, other, and making them 
glad to bestow on others whatever they had. The poor, I 
know, often are made covetous and hard-hearted by their 
poverty ; but the words of Jesus had so opened their hearts, 
that the poorest produced the bread hidden in their wallets 
and their garments, so that there was more than enough for 
all. Perhaps, also, the food given to their souls, and the 
heavenly illumination, had taken away the hunger of the 
body. 

But most of those who were there went away, and told how 
five loaves had been made into a thousand. Those who 
heard this tale came in great crowds to see another wonder 
of the same sort. Jesus had already sent us away to go 
back to the western side of the lake, to Kaphar-nahum. 
He did not go in the boat with us, but staid behind, at which 
we wondered greatly ; for there was no other boat there in 
which he could follow. He staid behind, saying that he 
must go into a mountain to ask the Lord to give him help 
for his next work. So we embarked on the boat, and hoisted 
the sail ; but the wind blew fiercely down from the moun- 
tains, and the waves rose, and the boat labored heavily. 
"VVe were forced to take down the sail, and row ; and the 
heavy waves struck the bow of the vessel, and much water 
came into it. At once we heard a voice, and looked, and, 
behold, Jesus was near the vessel, but walking lightly over 
the waves, as though they were solid ground. Some were 
frightened, and cried out, thinking it an evil spirit coming 
after us. But I saw who it was, and I thought I saw a 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 181 

light coming from his ej^es, and giving light to his face, — 
a strange thing to telL Then he stepped from the water 
into the ship, and soon after the winds ceased ; for on that 
lake they rise and fall very suddenly. 

Now it is strange to me, as I look back, that such things 
did not appear more wonderful when they took place. But, 
truly, whatever Jesus did was done so easily and peacefully, 
that it all seemed to belong to the very movement of nature. 
When I saw him thus moving over the waves, it looked 
natural, and as that which any one might do. I did not 
wonder, therefore, that Simon Peter tried to imitate his 
master. But it turned out that he had not any such power 
unfolded in him, for he was almost drowned. I thought 
how often, in my dreams, I had seemed to myself to rise 
from the ground, all the weight being taken from my body, 
so that I could float without wings in the air. Perhaps, 
indeed, such dreams are a prophecy of the time to come, 
when the laws of lightness and weight will be understood, 
and men will be able to learn how to destroy for a time the 
weight of their bodies. But what I now speak of is, that 
this strange action was not done by the master out of any 
display, nor did he speak of it to us, or to others, as a won- 
derful thing. I think it was because he knew our trouble 
and peril, that he felt compassion for us, and the power of 
his compassion drew forth in him this strange human faculty. 
I call it human ; for all his actions were human, — either such 
as men do now or may do hereafter. 

Because of this vast humanity in his soul and body, he 
loved, I think, to call himself "the Son of man," or "the 
Man." All that is in man was in him ; and he was the type 
and perfect model of what man — not corrupt, not diseased, 
not sinful — ought to be. If, among ten thousand oaks, 
most are deformed, or stunted, and at last only one is found 
which has become perfect, the same thing may be true of 
mankind. The perfect oak is, the type of all oaks, and is 



182 THE LEGE^^) OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the oul}^ true oak : so the perfect man is the ty^^e of all 
men, and is the onh^ true man. 

I thinlv that Jesus, at this period, wished to escape for a 
short time from the crowd, and to rest with his disciples and 
his twelve missionaries, to teach them what they needed to 
know. But we had hardly reached Kaphar-nahum before 
the boats began to come across from the other side. These 
boats had carried people over from Tiberias who had heard 
of the wonders. They were astonished when they found 
Jesus on this side ; for they knew, that, till their boats 
arrived at the place of the feeding, there were no others 
there ; and the people on the other side told them that he 
did not go over in the boat with his missionaries. So they 
asked him how he came across. But he, still averse to 
speaking of merely wonderful things, told them that not 
even the sight of the wonders had brought them, but the 
desire of another feast. Then he taught us that the truest 
feast is the feast of the heart and soul, such as he came to 
give to us. His kingdom was to be a feast of love on the 
earth, making all men more alive. Indeed, I think he saw 
in the feast of the five loaves a sign of the kingdom which 
was to be. A man who approaches us when the sun is rising 
behind him sends his shadow before, and his shadow arrives 
before himself : so did the coming kingdom send shadows 
before it. When the multitude were so fed with the teach- 
ing of Jesus, that they thought of others more than of 
themselves, and found more pleasure in giving their food 
to others than in eating it, he saw in this the sign and 
foreshadow of the coming kingdom. But the men who now 
came from Tiberias were not thus simple-minded, nor ready 
to be taught ; but they wished for signs and wonders, and 
asked him to give them another feast of bread from heaven, 
and then thej^ would believe in him. He answered them, 
saying that he himself — that is, I suppose, the truth and 
the love which was in him, and went out of him — was the 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 183 

real bread of God, which made a heavenly feast. They were 
vexed at this, and angry that a man whose father and mother 
they knew should call himself heavenly bread. Here was 
fulfilled again the proverb he uttered before, saying that a 
prophet did not have honor in his own country. And it was 
at this time that he said, as he said before, that they must 
eat him and drink him in order that he should do them good. 
They must have hunger for his word in order that it should 
be taken with profit. Only those whose minds had been 
made ready by the Providence of God would be drawn to 
him, so as to eat him and drink him. Some of his followers, 
who did not really love truth and goodness, but only hoped 
to be made great by his help, did not like these words : they 
saw that he asked of them what they could not give, and 
went their way. But the twelve missionaries loved his teach- 
ing, because it fed their souls with life : yet even one of 
this small number proved false at the end, as you shall hear. 
Thus you see, my children, that Jesus did not do these 
wonders that men might believe ; for he knew that no one 
could believe, unless he had the love of truth and of good- 
ness. Jesus had the power of God and man in him, and 
did his wonderful works where they would help men, but 
not to compel them to believe. Belief comes from seeing 
truth, and not from seeing power. Truly, the doctors of 
our law had taught this before ; for, when I was in the 
school of the Pharisees, I heard how Rabbi Yochanan Ben- 
Zacchai, the youngest of Hillel's eighty disciples, was once 
disputing in the courts of the temple with a learned teacher, 
who, being unable to reply to his argument, called on the 
pillars of the temple to testify on his behalf. And the pil- 
lars of the temple shook, or seemed to nod, to confirm his 
words. But Jochanan, not disturbed, cried out, "O pillars 
of the house ! what have ye to do with the disputes of the 
learned? Why threaten us? We know tluit 3^e are doomed 
to ruin. Stand erect, and be still." And the columns were 



184 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

rebuked, and dared not interfere again. Thus we were taught 
that miracles are no proof of truth. And thus, also, Jesus 
taught us, saying that " a wicked and adulterous generation 
seeketh after a sign." And he added, on a certain occasion, 
that "no sign should be given to this generation, but the 
sign of the prophet Jonah." That sign was one of appar- 
ent defeat and ruin. Jonah, when swallowed by the fish, 
as the story tells, was believed to be forever lost. Jesus, 
when crucified, was believed to be wholly conquered by his 
enemies. Instead of the sign of power which was asked of 
Jesus, to make it easy to believe he was of God, he said 
they would have one of defeat, his cause lost, himself 
destroyed. Thus he taught us that wonders of power were 
not to be any proof to us of the truth of his teaching. 

I think it pained him that people cared so much for won- 
ders, and so little for truth : hence he exclaimed that the 
generation which longed for signs was adulterous, mixing 
the love of truth with a longing for displays of outward 
force, — loving divine law, but also hoping to see astound- 
ing infractions of that law. "Whenever this spirit appeared, 
he avoided using his marvellous faculty. When he used it, 
it seemed to be a part of the order of nature. 

Also there were some conditions necessary in order that 
the result should be obtained. The power could be com- 
municated, as other kinds of skill can be taught by a teacher 
to his pupil. Sometimes, too, he exercised the power with- 
out intention. Once a woman who had been suffering for 
many years under a malady very diflflcult to cure, came and 
touched him, hoping to be helped merely by the touch. It 
seems that some power of a medical sort went from him 
into the woman, though it was in the midst of a crowd. 
The woman was perhaps cured of her disease, both by her 
own strong desire and confidence, which made her suscepti- 
ble to the power, and also by the power itself, which dwelt 
in the body of Jesus. He did not know, at first, who it was 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 185 

that touched him ; but he perceived that some force had gone 
from him. For this reason I have believed that his body 
was as superior to that of other men as his souV and that he 
possessed some natural power of healing in a high degree. 

But that this power had its laws, and was not wholly sub- 
ject to will, was also manifest on another occasion, when a 
terrible instance of possession by an evil spirit was brought to 
him. The demon had dwelt in a poor boy from his childhood, 
producing horrible spasms, dumbness, and fits, throwing him 
on the ground, and causing madness. Jesus being absent, 
some of his disciples tried to cure the boy. Matthew, if I 
remember aright, was of these. He took the boy's hands in 
his, as he bad seen his master do, and commanded the evil 
spirit to leave him ; but the paroxyms increased in fury. 
The scribes who stood by, and had been watching the affair, 
spoke aloud, and said, " Thus all these wonders come to an 
end when they are examined. At Jerusalem, they declare 
that Jesus and his disciples, when in Galilee, can cure all 
diseases ; but now that we are here, and see things with our 
own eyes, it is found that their attempts fail, and they can 
do nothing." While they spoke, we saw Jesus approaching, 
with Peter and John. Jesus heard the voices of the scribes 
and of the disciples, contending, — the scribes denying that 
any such power existed, and saying such cures were by 
chance ; and the disciples relating the wonders they had 
seen. Jesus asked concerning the subject of the dispute, 
and they told him. Then he said, "This is a generation 
which finds it hard to believe. How long must I be with 
you to convince you that man is spirit, and not body only ? ' ' 
Then he told them to bring the child to him. His presence 
aggravated the disease ; for the poor boy fell on the ground, 
screaming frightfully, and foaming at the mouth. But Jesus 
was calm, and questioned the father as to the malady, and 
asked how long the boy had suffered. The father said, 
"From a child;" and then begged Jesus to help him. 



186 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Jesus told him to put forth all his power of faith, and so 
assist in the cure. He came close to the child, and, look- 
ing at him with a fixed gaze, cried aloud, commanding the 
evil spirit to leave him, and return no more. Then there 
came another terrible convulsion, and the boy fell back as 
if dead. And the scribes looked at him, and said, "He 
is not cured: he is killed." But Jesus took his hand, and 
lifted him up. The boy opened his eyes, and stood on his 
feet, though feeble ; and a smile came to his face when he 
saw his father. Thus we perceived that the disease was 
gone. Then all the people began to talk aloud once more, 
and said, " It is a great miracle." But the scribes went 
awa}^ in silence. When the crowd had gone, and we were 
walking alone with the master toward the fountain of Paneas, 
we asked him why we had failed in working the wonder. 
Jesus replied, that it was because we had doubted the power 
of God to help : our faith was not strong. But he added, 
' ' This kind of evil cometh not out, save by prayer and fast- 
ing." Hence I saw that even such wonderful works have 
their laws and conditions, and so take their place in the 
mysteries of nature. 

Seeing this, and like wonders, with my own eyes, I could 
not doubt the wonderful power of Jesus. But I did not, 
therefore, believe him to be the " Coming One," nor that 
there was a Providence in the world. Jesus believed that he 
did such works by the help of God, but I ascribed them to 
a mysterious natural power which gave him supremacy over 
other men less gifted. It was a new way of curing disease 
by the power of mind over body; but it did not bring God 
any nearer to me, nor fill the vast void between the finite 
and the infinite. 

I heard the scribes muttering, as they went away, " He 
casts out demons by Beelzebub, the king of demons." This 
explanation I deemed very foolish. I was by no means sure 
that these diseased persons were possessed by evil spirits ; 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AXD WONDERS. 187 

but, at all events, the power of Jesus was not from beneath. 
It was an angelic power, and not a devilish one ; for it was 
used for good. 

Jesus did not seem to believe that this power of the soul 
over nature was peculiar to himself, for he ever maintained 
it was his faith in God which enabled him to perform the 
wonderful works. He told his scholars on this very occa- 
sion that faith in the soul, no larger than a mustard-seed, 
would enable them to move a mountain ; and, at another 
time, he told them that they could and would do greater 
works than he himself did. I deem, therefore, that this 
strange power was not superhuman, but human, and one 
which all men may partake of according to certain conditions 
and laws. When all men become, like Jesus, sons of God, 
dwelling always in the bosom of the Father, they will have 
something of this influx from God thus dwelling in them. 

In saying this I do not see in Jesus a less noble figure, 
but one more grand, and more to be adored ; for wlio is most 
to be worshipped, — the being whose gifts are for himself 
alone, or he who receives them that he may share them? 
The Greeks and Egyptians made gods and goddesses of 
those who invented the plough, or who discovered how to 
work in iron, or to make grain into bread. There is nothing 
more like God than to share all we have with our brothers, 
since God does all things for his creatures. Now, I think 
Jesus, our master, had nothing which he did not wish to 
share with his disciples, that they, in turn, might share them 
with their fellowmen. Thus he was made in all respects like 
his brethren in order to show us what man may become. 

Among the stories wliich are circulated among our people 
are some acts which I do not think were done by Jesus. It 
is usual with men to surround every real wonder with others 
which are imaginary. I myself never saw Jesus do a won- 
derful work merely to astonish men, to make them admire 
his power, or to gain any good for himself. He did his 



188 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

works not to be seen of men ; and often, when he cured the 
sick by a word of power, he suffered not his left hand to 
know what his right hand did. His power was always 
the servant of his goodness. He comforted his people. He 
helped the poorest and lowest by transmitting to them the 
divine force which flowed to him because of his union with 
God by faith. This is the rule and measure by which to dis- 
tinguish his true works from those wonderful stories which 
have grown up around the real ones, as weeds will always 
spring up around the wheat which man has planted. 

A man from the Greek coast of the Euxine once told me 
concerning a wonderful work of Jesus which seemed to him a 
mighty miracle. It came to him, he said, direct from one of 
the disciples of my companion, — Matthew-Levi. It was this : 
that once the collectors of the tribute for the temple (which 
was a half-shekel each year from every Jew) came and asked 
if Jesus meant to pay his tax, or whether, like the Saddu- 
cees, he opposed such payments. And the story was, that 
Jesus told them to catch a fish, and they would find a piece 
of money in its mouth ; and they did so. 

But I remembered the event, and saw immediately how 
this error came. There had been a long struggle between 
the Pharisees and Sadducees as to whether this religious 
tribute from all the Jews should be made a tax, to be paid 
by compulsion, or be left as a free gift. The Pharisees at 
last had won the victory ; and the Sanhedrim had passed a 
law making this tax an obligation, to be paid under penalty 
of punishment. When they asked Peter if his master paid 
his tax, Peter replied, "Certainly he does. Is he not a 
religious man ? ' ' But Peter in this was hasty, as in other 
things; for Jesus, hearing of it, said, "Does the Roman 
emperor receive taxes from Roman citizens, or only from 
the provinces?" And Peter answered, "From subjects in 
the provinces." Then Jesus said, "Should not, then, the 
children of God give freely to the worship of God?" He 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 189 

also added, that we need not always insist on our rights ; 
but, for the sake of peace, we might often not claim them. 
" Go, Peter," he added, " and find the money in the mouth 
of a fish." This was a proverb among the fishermen of 
the lake, which we all understood. If we needed money, 
we said, " Let us find it in a fish's mouth," meaning, " Let 
us catch some fish, and sell them." Now, Matthew spoke 
the Syrian language of the lake shore ; but his Greek dis- 
ciples translated his language into their own dialect, and did 
not know the meaning of this proverb, but thought it meant 
that a miracle had been wrought by Jesus merely to obtain 
money with which to pay his tax. And how could a piece 
of money be in a fish's mouth, unless it had been put there 
by some superhuman power ? This would have been a por- 
tent done only to astonish the disciples, and much unlike the 
other works of Jesus. I suppose other acts of Jesus may 
have been told as wonders which were not so. 

Yet I saw some strange works done . by the master, 
which even now I cannot understand. Once we were all 
crossing the lake from the western to the eastern shore to 
escape the crowds, and the excitement of the people. He 
had been teaching these crowds from the boat, as they stood 
on the shore ; for the multitudes who had heard of his 
healing the sick had been gathering from many places and 
great distances, as far away as from Arabia and the coun- 
tries east of the Jordan, and Phoenicians from Sidon. Dur- 
ing many days the excitement grew continually, and the 
multitudes thronged around him, and filled the houses where- 
ever he entered. He had not time to eat bread, so much did 
they crowd around, and beg him for help for their maladies ; 
much less was he able to speak and teach : therefore he had 
a boat — one of the small ships of the lake — alway'S at 
hand, waiting to take him on board when the crowd became 
too pressing. He had been teaching all the day concerning 
the importance of listening aright to the truth. As T remem- 



190 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY^IUS. 

ber, he had told the stoiy of the four kinds of hearers, — the 
waj'side hearers, the stony-grouud hearers, the thorny-grouud 
hearers, and the good-ground hearers. And j^et the}" did not 
listen quietly, but kept crying out, " We want a miracle ! " 
"Give us some sign from heaven!" and the like; which 
made him sad. And one woman thought to please him by 
crj^ing out, ' ' "What a blessed woman is thy mother ! ' ' But 
he smiled, and said, "Those are yet more blessed, who, 
when they hear the word of God spoken, are willing to listen 
to it." And another man in the crowd interrupted him again 
foolishly, by crj^ing aloud, "Master, master, here are thy 
mother and thy brothers outside of the crowd, who have 
come to find thee, and speak unto thee." But Jesus, who 
turned all things into a lesson, replied, "My friend, knowest 
thou who is ' my mother, and who are my brethren ? ' ' And 
the man stood agape, with open mouth, not knowing what to 
say. And all were made silent, and the crowd was hushed, 
wondering what he would answer. Then he turned, and 
pointed to us, his disciples, sitting near him in the boat, and 
said, "Here is my mother, and these are my brethren. If 
je will listen to the word of God, and hear it, that ye may 
do it, 3"e will all be as m}" mother and my brethren." 

And he told another stor}^ to them, because many of them 
had learned of the Baptizer to give up their old sins for fear 
of the wrath which was coming. He said that the evil spirit 
might go out of a man's soul ; but if the soul is left empty, 
and no good spirit comes in to fill the place, the man will, 
sooner or later, fall back into greater sin, and his last state 
be worse than his first. For an empty soul is like an empty 
cask, which can be filled with dirt ; but, if it be already full 
of grain, no dirt can be put into it. 

After he had taught thus all da3^ and was fatigued, and 
the crowds still pressed up close to the water, he told us to 
hoist the sail, and to go across to the other shore. He, 
being weary, lay down in the after-part of the boat, and fell 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 191 

asleep, his head resting on a mat. We sailed on quietly 
through the night, — which was not dark, for the moon was 
shining on the water, — until we came near the eastern shore ; 
but as we approached a high cliff which came down to the 
lake, with a mountain behind it, a furious wind blew down 
from this mountain. Then the sea rose, and we took down 
the sail, and began to row. But the wind increased in vio- 
lence ; the sky became black ; and the waves rose higher, and 
poured over the vessel. Still the master slept ; though the 
noise was great, and the vessel was tossed violently on the 
sea. At last a great wave burst OA^er the ship, and filled it, 
so that it seemed about to sink. Then we could refrain no 
longer, and shook his shoulder, and said, "Awaken, master! 
See! we are about to perish." And he arose very calmly, 
and said, with a smile on his face, "Be not afraid: have 
faith." Then he turned his face full to the storm, and 
spoke some words, not loudly, but in a grave, solemn tone, 
as if ordering the winds to be still, and the waters to sink. 
And almost directly we could perceive the fury of the storm 
had abated, and passed by ; and the waves began to subside. 
I was greatly amazed, but could not believe any human 
power could govern the storm : therefore I thought it to be 
only a chance that the storm fell at that moment. At that 
time I had no faith in Providence, nor in spirit, but only in 
earthly laws and forces. 

Even now, my children, I hardly know whether to believe 
this great wonder or not ; since such a power over nature 
seems to pass the limits of what is reasonable. There is 
only one way by which I can understand it. When I was in 
Egypt, studying the philosophy of the Greeks, in the Library 
of the Serapeum, I learned that there are two opposite opin- 
ions concerning the universe. One of these supposes all 
events to take place by material forces, blind and senseless, 
and that all things are ruled by inexorable fate : the other 
teaches that/^all forces proceed from spirit, and are ccntinu- 



192 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ally put forth in nature by spiritual power.) According to 
this view, nothing in nature is dead or blind. Myriads of 
myriads of spuitual beings are everywhere active, obeying, 
indeed, the supreme laws of the one God who is above all 
and through all, but able, lilve man, to originate both good 
and evil within certain limits. The beneficent powers send 
us good ; the tm-bulent and violent ones send the evils which 
beset us : yet all are restrained by the Supreme Power, so 
that the evil they can do is limited. According to this view 
of the world, a mighty soul, like that of Jesus, at one with 
God and with himself, may exert power over the storms and 
seas. Yet I remain uncertain, unable even now to decide 
this question. Nor do I think it necessary to settle it ; for 
I have no doubt in my soul as to the power of truth and of 
love that dwelt in my master, making him Son of God, and 
the Coming King of the world. All beside this is of small 
importance for our faith. 

These marvellous acts are the shadowy side of the life of 
our prophet, of which no one can speak with full assurance. 
In regard to these occult powers, we may remember his word, 
' ' No one knows who the Son is but tlie Father. ' ' Many 
thousand years may pass before the world will grow up to the 
fulness of the stature of Jesus, so as to understand his 
powers by a similar unfolding of powers in itself. The time 
may come, my children, when men shall become fully the 
sons of God, and be at one with the Father. When that 
day arrives, it will not seem strange for the soul to com- 
mand the powers of the universe, and be obeyed. 

Nor can any one measure the wonderful force which was 
in this mighty soul. I know that what we call death gave 
way before him, for this I saw myself. Three times in the 
course of his teaching he was believed to have raised the 
dead. Once it was the daughter of the ruler of the syna- 
gogue at Kaphar-nahum, Jair by name, whom the Greeks call 
Jairus. At this time I was not present ; since the master. 



I 



THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 193 

from consideration to the grief of the parents, took with him 
only three disciples. The second was when he raised the 
dead son of a widow, on the way to the burial. Though I 
did not see these wonders, I believe that they were effected ; 
for my fellow-missionaries described them to me, and could 
hardly be deceived. Moreover, the limits between life and 
death, when the life has just departed, aire not to be known. 
Who can tell when seeming death is real death ? And may 
not death itself, in its beginnings, be arrested by the same 
hidden power of the soul which can conquer and dispel dis- 
ease? Therefore, knowing so much of the power of the 
master, I could easily believe more, and yet believe that this 
was no violent incursion of the power of God, but a vast 
unfolding of powers latent in man. It was not God coming 
down, but man going up. God was still far off, and I could 
not find him. Nor did all this convince me that our master 
was the Coming One, who was to conquer the world. I be- 
lieved his goodness heavenly goodness, but still I doubted 
whether the most heavenly goodness would be ever the same 
as heavenly power. Not till I believed this, could I say that 
he was the Coming One. 

The third case of this raising the dead to life was more 
astonishing ; and I will describe it hereafter. It was of 
Lazarus, our friend, whom we all loved for his goodness, — 
who was dear to us all, and to the master. If one can ever 
be declared truly dead, he was so. But I will not speak of 
this event now. Yet, as I look back, I see how true were 
the master's words, that those who believe not Moses and 
the prophets will not be persuaded, though one rise from the 
dead. 



194 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

JESUS IX GALILEE. HIS SUCCESS. BEGINNING OF OPPOSI- 
TION. 

Tehs period of my life, while I was going to and fro in 
Galilee with the master, was one of pure happiness. I was 
always in the compan}^ of this dear friend, whose influence 
on my mind and heart brought to me a heavenly peace. I 
was also in the frequent society of Miriam, whose noble 
nature now seemed at rest again, after all the storms which 
had made her heart bitter. My brother-missionaries were 
honest and true men, without disguise or guile, and devoted 
to the master. At this period, even Judas of Karioth, though 
less friendly than the others, and often gloomy, seemed to 
be, like the rest of us, powerfully di-awn to our great leader. 

Our usual daily coui'se was this, '\^^e travelled on foot 
from place to place in Galilee, returning from time to time 
to Kaphar-nahum. The master led the way, talking with the 
twelve missionaries, who walked by his side. After them 
came another company of disciples, and, in a body by them- 
selves, the women. Sometimes Jesus called to him two or 
three of the disciples to talk with them, and sometimes he asked 
the women also to join those who were with him. When 
he came near a town, he sat down under a grove of trees, 
where there were cool shade and grass. His disciples then 
went through the town, and called the people to come out, 
and hear the good news of the coming kingdom. When all 
were collected, and seated around him on the grass, he spoke 
to them of the reign of peace and love which was about to 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 195 

begin, when all men should be friends to each other, and all 
the nations of the earth should worship the same heavenly 
Father. And he told them how the poor and suffering might 
find comfort and love in that kingdom, and no man should 
look down upon any other man. All there would be like 
brothers and sisters. If they wished to enter that kingdom, 
they must begin now to make ready, by forsaking their sins, 
and by forgiving their enemies. They must become like 
little children in trust and simplicity, for the coming of the 
Christ was at hand. Thus he spake, and with such power 
and such tenderness, that the people wept aloud, and con- 
fessed their sins, and begged pardon of each other. Then 
he spoke words of comfort and hope to them, and directed 
them to wait patiently for this consolation of Israel. But 
he told them to be ready, for it might come at any time. 

After the people were gone, the women went to the village, 
and bought bread ; and we all sat on the grass together, and 
ate. The master talked with us, and asked us questions for 
an hour or two ; and then we would arise, and go on to some 
other city or town. When evening came, after speaking to 
the people who sat on the ground near the gate of the town, 
we went into the houses, and slept. In most of the towns 
the houses were built around an inner court ; and there the 
master sometimes sat, and talked with the people who stood 
or sat around him. Others stood on the roof above, which 
made a terrace around the court, and leaned over the rail, 
listening to the master's voice as it rose from below. Once, 
as I remember, he sat in such an inner court, teaching. *The 
place was filled full of people, but on the flat roof above 
only a few others stood and listened. Then came four 
men bringing one stiff and immovable, stricken with the dis- 
ease which the Greeks call paralusis. And the crowd was 
so great, that they could not come near Jesus : therefore 
they carried him on his mattress up the steps which led from 
the street to the roof-top, and passed on around the court, 



196 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMU3. 

till they stood above the head of the master. Then they 
took away the curtain stretched over the court as a shelter 
from sun and rain, and with cords let down the poor sick 
man on his mat. The mat, with the man on it, descended, 
till it came in front of the master's face, while he spoke. 
To us it seemed rude thus to interrupt his words ; but Jesus 
smiled, well pleased that they had such trust in the power 
of God present among them. I think he also saw that the 
man's soul was dark with the sense of his sins, so that he 
needed most the sight of God's face of love. Because of 
this, he said to him in low and tender tones, " Have courage, 
my son, and hope in God ; for th}^ sins are forgiven." Then 
the man's face became full of a wondering and yet a 
doubtful joy : for he believed, and 3Tt believed not, that 
this grace had come to him. Others sitting round, scribes 
from Jerusalem, looked angry, and muttered to each other, 
" This is sheer blasphemy ; for who can forgive sins, but God 
only? " Jesus, who saw into the very souls of men, smiled, 
and said, " You think it easy to say to this man, ' Th}" sins 
are forgiven,' but not easy to know if they are forgiven. 
You think that God alone can forgive sins. That is true, 
but God can give power to man to carry his divine love to 
other men. The Son of man has power to forgive sin on 
earth, as God forgives in heaven. That ye may know this, 
listen and observe." Then he rose to his feet, and said to 
the paralyzed man, ''Arise! take up thy mat, and go to 
thy home." As he said this, the light of love and power 
streamed from his eyes, and such majesty was in his tones, 
that I was not surprised when I saw the man slowly rising, 
till at last he stood on his feet, and looked around, wonder- 
ing at himself. Then, stooping, he raised his mat, and turned 
to go out. The people, filled with amazement, gave way, 
and left an open path through which he passed out into the 
street. This happened at Kaphar-nahum. 

At this time I did not believe in forgiveness of sin. In 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 197 

truth, I did not know what forgiveness of sin might mean. 
I thought God's forgiveness was like that of a Roman procu- 
rator, who could pardon a criminal by letting him go, instead 
of putting him to death. When God pardoned sin, I thought 
it meant that he would not punish the man in the future place 
of torment, which was in Sheol, or the dark abyss below, 
called Gehenna, or Tophet. We believed there was a vast 
hollow in the depths of the earth, where all the dead went. 
This all-devouring cavern contained the s?)uls of men and 
demons, kept for the future judgment and resurrection. The 
good souls were preserved in Paradise, on one side of Sheol, 
where were gardens and feasts ; over which Abraham ruled, 
reclining at the head of a table, with Isaac his first-born, or 
his grandson Jacob, leaning on his bosom, in the place of 
honor. Once we were astonished when our master told us 
that a poor beggar, despised by all, would, after his death, 
be in this place of honor, with his head on the breast of 
Abraham. We believed that the wicked would be kept on 
the other side of Sheol, where a river of fire, called Gehenna, 
ran, in which they were plunged in order to be punished, and 
perhaps purified. And this river of fire below corresponded 
to the Valley of Hinnom above, in which perpetual fires 
consumed the corruption of the city. The Paradise near it, 
where the good went, corresponded to the Jerusalem above 
this Valley of Hinnom. So that when God pardoned sin, we 
supposed it meant to take the sinner out of his punishment 
in the fires of Gehenna, and place him in the other part of 
Sheol, — in the gardens of the blest. 

But if to forgive meant to take away the punishment, 
how could our master pardon the sinner, since he had not yet 
gone into Sheol? Therefore I did not understand why he 
should say to this man, " Thy sins are forgiven thee." 

Afterward I learned to understand this better. Jesus knew 
the might of the soul to cure the diseases of the body, and 
bow, by filling the spirit with life, you may heal the sick ; 



198 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

and therefore he addressed his medicine to the soul. He saw 
in the sick bod}^ a soul more diseased. 'UTiat gloom, what 
sadness of heart, rushes, like a river of death, into our spirit, 
when we see our own meanness and emptiness, see how we 
have fatally injured others and ourselves, how we have been 
ungrateful and disobedient to God, false and cruel to our 
friends. Such was the death in this man's spirit; and Jesus 
poured the wine of healing and the oil of comfort into these 
deep spiritual wounds. Trust in God, peace with man, con- 
tentment, hope, all descended into his heart ; and the bodily 
disease was overcome by this tide of love. 

I felt something of this ; but I did not see clearly into its 
meaning, till one day the master told us the story of the two 
sons, — one wasteful and one prudent. I have often told 
5^ou this story, my children, and I have seen the tears drop 
from your eyes when I repeated it ; nor do I wonder, for 
in truth it goes to the deepest places in the heart of man. 
You heard that when the younger son, who wasted all his 
share of his father's goods in riotous living, had reached 
the lowest misery and shame, even becoming a servant of 
the accursed animal, seeing the swine he fed have the food 
they needed, while he starved, this misery and degradation 
brought him to his true self. " When he came to himself," 
were the master's words, describing his repentance. His 
shame was good medicine, for it made him see both his sin 
and his folly. "He came to himself:" those are strange 
words, my children ; for how can a man come to himself? 
Are there not, perhaps, two men in us, who can go from each 
other, and then return again ? Did you never feel something 
like this? The true self in us, the master meant to teach, is 
the good self, the knowledge of what is true, and the love of 
what is right. This is the inward deepest self in all men. 
The outer gelf is the man's upper thought and wilful action. 
We think -and say things from the surface of our mind vehe- 
mently, while we half hear a denial made by the true self 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 199 

within us. When we let ourselves be hurried away by the 
outward world, its pleasures and joys, we do not hear that 
voice within. We go into a far country then, like this poor 
sinful boy, and waste our substance, the real wealth of our 
soul, in riotous living. Then comes the health-bringing 
famine, the divine hunger, the life-creating shame, the 
blessed punishment which shuts us from the outward world, 
and brings us back to our real self. With this, comes back 
what my old teacher Philo called the primal faith, the origi- 
nal trust of the heart in God ; for God has made all little 
children to believe in love, to trust in God and man. In 
that solemn hour of repentance we become little children 
again, and there dawns within us a rosy light of hope in 
God. We remember our Father : we say, " I will arise, and 
go to my Father." Then, my children, our Father sees us a 
great way off : long before we have really come to him, he 
comes to us. He pours his reconciling love into our heart, 
and we become once more at one with him. This, my chil- 
dren, is forgiveness of sin : it is not remission of punish- 
ment ; it is not giving us back what we have wasted. The 
father did not again divide his property, or give a second 
portion of goods to the younger child. To remit punish- 
ment, the natural and necessary punishment of sin, would 
not be a benefit nor a blessing to the sinner. He needs the 
suffering for his own sake, to prevent him from wandering 
away again. 

Repentance and faith bring to the sick soul the immediate 
life-giving power of heavenly love. It becomes from that 
moment filled with new health, new life. 

So when Jesus said those words to the man whose limbs 
were stiff with paralusis, he said them because he saw that 
this sinner had already thought in his heart, " I will arise, 
and go to my Father." The love of God, which was in 
Christ, came to him while he was a great way off. It was 
this love which fell on his neck, and kissed him. It was 



200 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

because Jesus had himself become the well-beloved Son, 
dwelling always in the bosom of the Father, that he' could 
thus be a channel through which the heavenl}' grace might 
flow. He did not say, "Thou shalt not be punished here- 
after," but, "Have peace now." He did not say, "Thy 
sins shall he forgiven thee in another world, " but, " Thy sins 
are forgiven thee here." So the love and life of God flowed 
easily through the soul of Jesus into the sinner's heart ; 
and, as soon as he was filled with the joy of this new life, 
his soul became strong enough, through faith in God, to 
assist in the cure of his body. Jesus, perchance, could better 
cm^e his body when he had first cured his soul. 

" Alas ! " you cry, " why cannot we, also, hear that voice, 
speaking from the bosom of the Father, and saying to our 
sick hearts, ' Thy sins are forgiven thee ' ? Why may not 
we, too, listen to him who spoke as one having authority?" 
We cannot, my children, hear that voice, of the Word made 
flesh in Jesus. But the Word made flesh is yet here, in the 
heart of every true disciple. Whoever has a real faith in 
the Christ draws through him this same power from God to 
forgive sin. All of us, in proportion to our faith, have this 
power to lift the burden of despair from human hearts. 
Jesus was so full of faith, that he could forgive sins with a 
single word : we must use many words, for our faith is 
diluted with doubts. When he spoke, the fire of divine love 
passed directly from his lips into the heart of the sinner, and 
kindled a sudden flame of faith, and with that faith a solid 
knowledge that God forgave his sins. But ought not we to 
be glad, when, by much patience and prayer, we can gradu- 
ally make ourselves a channel by which this same heavenly 
grace shall flow into a sick brother's heart? 

I understand this now, but I did not understand it then. 
To me then, still tossed helplessly on a sea of doubt, " for- 
giveness ' ' was a word without meaning. Yet I coukl not but 
see that some wonderful power went from my master's soul 



*» 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 201 

to give peace and joy to the souls of the forlorn. I kept 
this hidden in my heart, and pondered over it often ; but as 
yet I found no explanation of the mystery. 

The joy with which the people listened to these good 
tidings was so great, and the numbers who thronged wher- 
ever we came were so ready to become our master's fol- 
lowers and soldiers, that we believed he would immediately 
proclaim himself the King, Son of David, and Son of God. 
We rose every morning, hoping that we should hear him 
call on the multitudes to go with him to take possession of 
the city of David. It seemed to us that the reign of God 
had already begun. Our people had groaned under the 
burden of minute laws, which ruled every act of their life. 
Jesus had broken this yoke. Now we walked at liberty. 
We lived in the presence of infinite love, and the weight of 
the law was taken away. The ritual of the Jews kept the 
conscience of the whole people in an irritable state. We 
were taught to weigh every word and act, and to see if we 
had not committed some offence for which we must make 
atonement. This ever-present sense of sin was the sting of 
our life and the sting of death. No people in the world had 
such a consciousness of sin as we had. The religion of the 
Greeks was one of joy. They lived without law, following 
their instincts and the law written in their hearts. But our 
life, if we tried to do right, was a perpetual torment, a 
never-ending struggle. Our law tortured us with its un- 
ceasing demands, which we were never able to satisfy. 

But in the presence of our master all these anxieties and 
these fears were taken away. Peace reigned, and the sense 
of sin disappeared. Heaven had begun. Love had cast out 
all fear. We were like the little children, who having sat 
on the ground in silence all day before their teacher, gazing 
sadly at their tablets, and trying to know the difference 
beween Alpha and Beta, are dismissed at the setting of the 
sun. How the little ones rush from school, dancing as they 



202 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMTJS. 

go, because released from the long constraint ! And so we 
felt, when our master had taken us from the schoolhouse of 
the law into the open air of his sunny world of love. We 
had no care about ablutions, fastings, prayers : we served 
God freely, in grateful joy. 

Wherever we journeyed, this gladness went with us. The 
poor people listened to the good news, and rejoiced. The 
sick were healed, and went away proclaiming the power and 
goodness of this great prophet who had come with so mighty 
a salvation. 

But what surprised us was that our master withdrew him- 
self from the multitudes who thronged after him to become 
his disciples. When the crowds became large, and they 
shouted his name aloud with many hosannas, he would leave 
the place, and go elsewhere. 

I once asked him why he did this. He replied by telling 
me that he did not wish the people to feel too strongly till 
they saw more clearly. He told me, that, when men's feel- 
ings were roused, they urged them often in a wrong direction. 
If their thoughts turned in the right direction, their feelings 
moved them in the right way ; but, if their thoughts went 
astray, their feelings then moved them the wrong way. He 
said, that, ' ' till they see and know better than now what 
the kingdom of God is, I do not wish them to be moved by 
violent feelings. The more zealous they are for me and my 
kingdom, the more evil will come from that zeal. Therefore 
I watch the movements of their minds ; and, when the feeling 
outweighs the knowledge, I go elsewhere, that the feelings 
may become cool. I wish for heat, but only while light goes 
with it. The light and the heat of the sun are so mingled, 
that they cause the grass to grow, and the trees to blossom. 
Thus must light and heat be mingled in the soul, if the soul 
is to bear fruit for God." Somewhat like this, the master 
answered, but not in these words. 



JESUS IN GALILEE. 203 

And now I will tell you of a conversation which we had 
concerning the new kingdom and its nature. I had read in 
Alexandreia the dialogues of the Greek theologian Plato, 
in which Sokrates talks with his disciples concerning the 
beautiful, the true, and the good. Jesus also talked with 
us in a like manner ; and I, as well as I can remember, 
will write down for you some of these most divine dia- 
logues. But I do not pretend to give you the very words 
of the master, on account of my poor memory, but only his 
thoughts. Some persons easily remember words ; but I can 
only recollect thoughts, for the words fly away and escape 
me, like birds from the hand when it is opened. 



204 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DLDYMUS. 



CHAPTER Xn. 

WHAT JESUS TAUGHT COXCERXIXG THE CO^kOXG KINGDOM. 

OxcE, during our journeys in Galilee, we came to a hill- 
top, from which we looked down on the fan* land of our 
birth. One silver line of our dear lake was to be seen 
be^'oud the nearer hills. The great mountain of Hermon 
rose, a wall of white snow, into the sky ; far to the south we 
saw the green top of Tabor, and on its right the steeps of 
Karmel, and in the blue distance the hills around Jerusalem. 

We sat on the grass for our noontide meal of bread and 
figs ; the sycamores, which reached their large arms over us, 
throwing mighty shadows around. And one of the disciples 
said to his neighbor, " The kingdom must soon be mani- 
fested." 

And Jesus, whose ear was so fine that no whisper escaped 
him, said, " And wh}^ so, my son? " 

Then Andrew (I belicA^e it was Andrew) said, "Because, 
O master, all men are ready. Never have I known or heard 
of such a movement in the mind of our nation, — no, not at 
the preaching of John the Baptizer, nor in the days of the 
Maccabees. Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, 
tells us that Herod is so terrified, that he has thought of 
flying from Tiberias. And, indeed, you have only to say a 
word, and this vile king, who sought to take your life, will 
be cast into the middle of the lake, and his soldiers with him. 
The people of Tiberias are ready to do this without help from 
any others. Almost every day men from Kaphar-nahum 
and Tiberias arrive, asking of us, ' Is the hour come ? ' And 
we reply, ' Wait, and be patient, the time is not yet.' " 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 205 

• 

So spoke Andrew, whom men called the "Manly One." 
And Jesus answered, — 

" No, Andrew, my hour has not yet come. Nor do I wish 
that Herod, or any other, should be slain. The Son of man 
has come, not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. I 
am here to give more li'fe to the world, not to take life away. 
The kingdom of God does not come by shedding of blood, 
unless, indeed, it be that of the Son of man. Let Herod go 
his way : it is not he who can hinder my work. Be not 
afraid of those who, like Herod, can only kill the body, and 
there their power ends ; but fear those tempters — the 
Satans about us here — who can cast the soul, after it is 
murdered, into the hell of evil. But remember this, that 
God's kingdom cannot come until we can conquer evil with 
good." 

"Then, master," said I, " I fear it will never come; for 
how can good conquer evil, unless it has also force to help 
it, and wisdom to guide the force ? It is not goodness which 
conquers in this world, but evil or good, according as either 
has those allies of power and knowledge. Andrew, indeed, 
has spoken of the Maccabees. When they arose, evil had 
conquered good in our land. The temple was polluted ; the 
whole land was filled with heathen gods and sacrifices : but 
the Maccabees, who were good, were also strong and wise. 
Good conquered evil then, because it was ready to fight, and 
destroy evil with the sword. my master, must it not do 
so now ? ' ' 

Thus I spoke, full of strong desire, and longing to know 
his thought. But he replied, — 

"They were, indeed, noble men and heroes; but they 
were not the Christ of God. What they won by the sword 
the sword has again taken from us. The victories of force, 
even when it is used for the sake of truth, are only for a 
time ; but the victories of truth and good are forever. ' ' 

Then Judas of Karioth, whose soul had been poisoned by 
Ben Gamlah, spoke, — 



206 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

"The Christ, when he comes, is to be the Son of David, 
and will have the power of his father David, and sit on his 
throne to rule the twelve tribes of Israel. David was a 
might}^ captain, and conquered his enemies by sword and 
spear. The Son of David must also be a might}" captain. I 
can never believe that the Romans can be conquered by any 
thing but iron and the sword of war." 

Jesus then said that Judas of Karioth had utter6d the 
thought in the minds of most men, and that gold and iron 
did indeed seem to rule the world. But a prophet must see 
not only what is now, but what is to come. He added, "Ye 
call me Prophet and Master, and ye say well : I am so. I 
am able to see the Power which is to conquer the world in 
the age to come, as the Roman legions conquer it now. The 
Power which is coming is mightier than any thing we see. 
It is hidden from your eyes, but I see it plainly. The Christ, 
when he comes, will not be the Son of David, but the Lord 
of David. His power shall be like that of the rain, which 
comes softly down on the young grass. His sword shall be 
the truth, which makes the hearts of men bow down, and 
which slays the wickedness within them. This age to come 
is close at hand. Whoever would enter the kingdom must 
be humble, meek, and trusting as a little child. If ye are 
thus lowly and obedient, ye shall be exalted to sit on thrones, 
and govern all the tribes of Israel." 

Thus he talked with us, day b}^ day, about the kingdom 
which was at hand, and the age of the Christ. He said the 
old age of force and fraud was drawing to an end, and the 
new age was soon to begin. But it would not come with 
observation. People would not see it coming outwardly, nor 
point to it, saying, " There it is ! " but would find it in their 
own hearts. It would be an age in which no man would 
bate his neighbor, but each would forgive the other's sin, 
and evil would be swallowed up by good. Then God would 
be no more King or Judge, but the Father of tenderness and 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 207 

the Comforter. This comfort of God would enter every soul, 
and teach it all the truth. 

So we travelled, day by day, among the villages of Galilee. 
The days were mild, the air warm and full of perfume. The 
food we ate was the fruit which grew plentifully around us, 
and bread brought by the villagers or bought of them. We 
slept in the open air, beneath the trees, with fires blazing 
near by to keep off the chills of night. 

The master at times taught us by stories, asking us to find 
out their meaning. We listened eagerly to these stories, and 
often understood something of their hidden sense. Some of 
them taught us that the world of unbelievers was also dear 
to God, and that the Gentiles who did justly were nearer to 
the love of the Father than those children of Abraham who 
were cruel and dishonest. But this seemed to us strange 
doctrine, and a hard saying. 

Thus travelling on, we came one day to the upper region, 
where the Jordan takes its rise from great fountains at the 
foot of Hermon. We followed the path which led up to 
the city built by Philip the Tetrarch, which he named for 
Tiberius Caesar. As we passed a grove of ilex, we saw 
before us marble buildings, and a Roman temple beyond. 
Behind this arose a red cliff ; and above all soared into the 
sky Mount Hermon, with vast ravines cutting its sides. 
The sound of rushing water was in our ears, and soon we 
came where the torrent leaped in white foam along the bottom 
of a deep hollow. All around were olive-trees and vines. 
Soft green turf was beneath our feet as we wound along the 
edge, and looked down, through green masses of leaves, to 
the waters which rushed below. 

The master led the way to the left, leaving the city. We 
climbed another hill, and came to where some old oaks stood 
in a circle. Here we sat down, and took our meal of bread, 
figs, and grapes. The birds sang in the trees above us, and 
all was still and lovely. 



208 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY^iR^S. 

The master told those of us who wished, to go and look 
at the city, and see the temple, and the cave which the 
Greeks said was sacred to their god Pan, who represented 
all things. Many, therefore, went ; but a few remained, 
hoping that the master would talk with us. Peter and John, 
and Mmam of Migdol, remained ; and I, also, staid with 
them. 

I said, " Master, I have heard that this place is defiled by 
the worship of false gods. The demon-goddess of Syria, 
Baal-Ashtaroth, whom the Greeks call Astarte, was wor- 
shipped in this very grove where we sit. And Pan, so it is 
said, dwelt in the cave under the cliff ; and there they served 
him. And now the Romans, who worship mortals like them- 
selves, have raised to Caesar the white marble temple beyond 
the torrent. If there is one true God, why does he allow 
these false gods to be worshipped ? ' ' 

The master replied, " The Gentiles have never been taught 
to know the one true God, who is spirit, and who does not 
dwell in temples made with hands. Therefore they are to 
be pitied, rather than blamed ; for they are seeking God, 
though blindly, some calling him Baal, and others Pan. But 
the hour cometh when all who are true in heart, and honest, 
shall see and know the true God, and call him Father." 

" But why, then," asked I, " were they allowed to remain 
in darkness so long ? ' ' 

And he told us that no one could answer that question, 
not even the best beloved Son of God, who dwells closest to 
the Father's heart. The times and seasons God alone knows. 
But all things come in their appointed time, — first the blade, 
then the ear, afterward the full corn in the ear. 

Then Mu'iam said, "Master, there is something I, also, 
would say." And he told her to say on. 

And she said, " O master, thou art very good to us, and 
very patient, and, best of all, thou hast made us see and 
know that God is also patient with us. I, in my misery, 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 209 

have found hope, and I trust that at last my sins also shall 
be blotted out. Yet at times some evil spirit torments me,, 
and whispers in my ear that I am deceived. The demon 
says, ' He never sinned : therefore he cannot know any thing 
of thy sin. He stands so far away in his holiness, that he 
cannot see the evil that is in thy heart. He knows not how 
bad and hard thy heart is, nor how great thy wickedness : if 
he did, he would not have said that thy sins are forgiven.' " 

Thus Miriam spoke, lifting up imploring eyes to Jesus, — 
eyes from which the tears were falling. I was glad to hear 
her words ; for the same thought had come to me, that Jesus 
was too good to know*how great my sins had been, and thus 
his forgiveness had less value. 

But the prophet sat lost in meditation, and for a long time 
did not speak. At last he lifted up his eyes ; and as I 
looked in his face it was like the surface of the lake as I 
have seen it when the shadows of clouds went over it, and 
it became dark in their shade, and then bright again in sun- 
shine. So the shadows from past time, of things felt and 
.thought, seemed to be passing through the master's mind. 
At last he spake. 

I would, my children, I could give you the very words he 
then said ; but, because I felt so deeply the spirit of his 
discourse, the words all flew away. He began by telling us 
that he, also, had seen the nature of evil, and knew it well. 
He knew the power of temptation, and had fought against it, 
resisting it until the blood of his heart seemed to leave him 
in that awful conflict. He spoke partly in a parable, and 
partly in words so deep that we his hearers could hardly see 
their meaning. Just so, in our lake, there were parts which 
were said to have no bottom, because our longest lines did 
not find it. 

He told us how he studied the Scriptures in his youth, and 
meditated on the words of Moses and the prophets. There 
he learned, that, amid all the calamities of the times, they 



210 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

looked forward to a great day of joy, when the Lord's house 
should be on the top of the mountains, and all nations should 
flow into it. It should be a day of peace, when the sword 
and spear should be beaten into ploughshares and pruuing- 
hooks. It should be a day of universal comfort, when the 
poor and wretched should be consoled, and the wilderness of 
barren hearts should blossom as the rose. Then he told us 
how by degrees he came to know that the great kingdom 
was to be one of love and truth in the soul. He saw that 
outward power came to nothing. The power of David was 
gone ; the glory of Solyma had passed away ; the heroic 
courage of the Maccabees had ended in another slavery : 
nothing of all the greatness of our nation had remained, but 
the mighty truths taught by Moses and the prophets. These 
had gone over the world, had entered the palaces of kings 
and the huts of peasants. The Messiah, when he came, 
must, therefore, be one who should reveal truths yet more 
divine, and much more beautiful than any that ej^e had seen, 
or ear heard, or the heart of man conceived. He who could 
see such truths would lift the world to God, and take all 
bitterness out of men's hearts and lives. 

Then he told us, that as he walked over the hills above 
Nazareth, after his day's work was done, there came to his 
soul wonderful visions. The world of spirit was opened to 
him, and he saw its laws. Just as, with the outward eye, we 
see Mount Hermon, always covered with snow, in the north, 
and Tabor, always green, in the south, so, with his inward 
eye, he saw always before him a world of righteousness and 
love, as solid as Hermon, as green and beautiful as Tabor. 
Those truths which he taught us he had seen unveiled in such 
hours of open vision. T then understood why he spoke with 
such authority. When he said, "He who exalteth himself 
shall be abased, he who humbleth himself shall be exalted," 
he was describing that which he knew, not that which he 
merely believed. Thus a whole world of knowledge lay 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 211 

before his mind, whenever he looked inward, as real and as 
unchanging as the world of hills, woods, and waters around 
us. 

After this he told us that the Spirit of God led him 
deeper into another world of thought, and higher into a more 
heavenly world of love. Both beneath and above the world 
of truth was a world of love : wherever he looked, within 
or without, he saw the smile of God. He saw God's 
love in the whole world about him and the whole world 
within his soul. As he mused, the fire burned with a 
soft warm blaze : the land and sea and sky were full of 
God. The little birds sang praise to him, the skies were 
overflowed with his blessing. Thus the prophet passed 
through the knowledge of truth to the knowledge of love, 
and saw his Father in all things. He and his Father were 
one. Nothing divided or separated him at any hour from 
God. There was no sense of sin in his soul. He had 
become the Son of God, dwelling always in the bosom of the 
Father. 

But again he found a new sense opening within him. He 
had the power of looking into men's hearts. He was drawn 
by strong cords of desire toward all men, and wished to save 
them by bringing them into the same state in which he lived. 
He ceased to judge and condemn any man for his sins, for 
he saw in all men the seed of goodness. It was choked by 
tares ; it was lying helpless on the bare rock ; it had no 
deep soil : but it was the seed of God in each man's heart. 
Human souls became open to him, so that he could look 
and see whatever was within. All were to him as brothers, 
— the Pharisee belonging to the Separate Society, the hard 
tax-gatherer, the foul leper, the cruel Roman. He did not 
hate them for their sins : he pitied them. He was like the 
physician, who is not angry with the sick man, but only 
wishes to save him and cure him. All men were equally 
dear to him, for all were the children of his Father. Greek 



212 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY^HJS. 

and Roman, Barbarian and Scythian, — all were God's chil- 
dren, and all struggling and seeking for some light and some 
good. 

Then, also, he told us how he came to see that all the 
ceremonies of our law — its sacrifices, its worship, its sab- 
bath, its priests and Levites, its washings — were the husk 
of the fruit, ready to drop off, and come to an end. The 
new wine must be put into new bottles. In this he knew he 
should be bitterly opposed by the rulers and priests, scribes 
and Pharisees. They had given their lives to strengthening 
this husk and shell of religion : how could they give it up ? 
This body of religion seemed to them as essential as the soul, 
but this corruptible form of religion was weighing down its 
spirit. There must be a resurrection of the soul of Israel 
out of this body into a higher one. He saw before him the 
warfare he must wage with these proud men intrenched in 
forms, doctrines, traditions, and thinking themselves the most 
holy of the people. 

He told us, moreover, how, when he lived thus close to 
God, not only the truth and love of his Father came and 
dwelt in him, but also the power of the Father. Nature in 
all her parts became submissive to his will. He had only to 
wish strongly, and the sick man arose and walked ; with a 
word he could release the madman and lunatic from their 
bitter bondage, with a word cause the plague of leprosy to 
flee away. Y^t he knew that all this power was not his own, 
but his Father's, and to be used only for the good of the 
Father's other children, and to cause the kingdom of love 
and truth to come. 

So the days and years passed without reproach or fear, in 
which he constantly entered into the deeper places of God, 
and became more and more his well-beloved Son. Meantime 
his cousin Johann (or John) , who was a man eaten up with 
zeal for righteousness, went forth into the wilderness to 
escape the evils of the world. The greatness of our master 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 213 

was also shown in this, that this stern prophet, the Baptizer, 
bowed down reverently before one so different from himself, 
declaring that he was not fit to perform the duties of a 
disciple by unfastening our master's shoestrings. The Bap- 
tizer told his disciples that one would come after him in time, 
who was to be before him in rank, and who always was 
before him in character. He called himself only the servant 
running before to announce the Coming One. He said he 
was but a voice crying in the wilderness. When Jesus came 
to the place where the Baptizer was, John cried out that this 
was the one who was to be greater than himself, and would 
increase more and more, while he himself should grow less. 
He also testified of our master, that he was the Lamb of 
God, who would take away men's sins, and make them holy 
and pure. 

These things I heard related by John's disciples, who were 
astonished that one who set himself above kings, and defied 
them, who rebuked the holy ones of the Separate Society, 
and called them " a generation of vipers," should have hum- 
bled himself so exceedingly before Jesus, whom he had 
known from a child. He also declared, that, though he 
knew the holiness of Jesus, he had not known that Jesus 
was to baptize men with the Holy Spirit, and to become 
greater than himself, until Jesus came be baptized. Then 
he saw the power of God resting on him ; and there came 
over the face of Jesus a spirit of such majestic goodness, 
that it seemed to descend on him from heaven, as a dove 
comes down out of the skies. He likened it to a dove's 
flight, because this bird comes suddenly but gently, and, 
though quick, makes little noise with its wings. 

After telling us thus how his soul grew up, and increased in 
power and knowledge, the master said to us that the heaven 
where God dwells is not far off in the skies, but close to the 
soul. Heaven is so near, that we can be in heaven while we 
are on earth. We come out of heaveii, he said, when we 



214 THE LEGEXD OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

leave the innocence of childhood ; for the souls of children 
always behold jthe_face of the Father mHieaYeii. And no 
one couH ascend up into heaven, unless he came out of it ; 
for if it were not natural to us to behold the face of God, 
and if God had not made our souls able to see him, how 
could we do it by any effort or virtue of our own ? Thus no 
one can go up into heaven, but he who comes down out of 
heaven ; and when one is truly the son of man then he is 
both in heaven and on earth at once. For as when we 
speak, the thought comes out of our mind, and still remains 
in the mind : so we can come out of heaven to help our 
fellow-men, but remain in heaven still with God and his 
love. This seemed dark to me when the master said it, but 
since then I know also the truth of this sa3dug. And I know 
now that the master, while he walked with us on earth, was 
always in heaven. We sometimes see a little of the face 
of God, but he saw God always. We sometimes have the 
spirit of God come to us to make us generous, and to create 
faith in our heart : but the spirit was not given to him by 
measure, a little at a time, but it abode with him always ; 
and the Father never left him alone. Thus, too, when we 
saw our master, and talked with him, we seemed to see God, 
and talk with God ; for he was full of God's light, and the 
light came from his face to ours. That was why he said, 
"He who has seen me has seen the Father; since the 
Father dwells in me, and I in him." His words, he said, 
were not his own words, but the words of God, and the 
works he did were the works of God ; for he did nothing 
of himself, nor of his own private will. 

Yet this made it seem more strange when he told us this 
morning that he also was tempted like om-selves. How it 
came about was thus described : — 

Walking thus in the heavenly world, and seeing its won- 
ders and mysteries, it was plain to him that the kingdom 
which was to come, and which should be at last the universal 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 215 

reign of God, must be spirit and truth, not force. In that 
kingdom, those who humbled themselves would be exalted, 
those who would be great must become servants of all. 
They must conquer their enemies by forgiving them ; they 
must bless those who cursed them ; and so, by sure and 
certain laws, good would at last overcome evil, truth conquer 
falsehood, and the world be full of the knowledge of God. 

These divine laws he beheld plainly. But when he came 
down out of this heaven, and looked at the world and the 
people, he also saw that the power of evil was so great, that 
he must give his life to redeem the world. One who knows 
trees, when he sees an acorn, sees the oak which is in the 
acorn ; one who knows birds, when he finds an egg, sees 
what kind of bird will come out of the egg : so Jesus, look- 
ing at the nation as it was, saw what would grow out of it 
as soon as the sun and rain of his truth fell on it. The 
seeds of thorns and thistles were there ; and they would 
grow up first, and choke the good seed. The pride of the 
rulers, the hardness of the Pharisees, the blind rage of the 
people against the Romans, — these would be a wall of rock 
in his way. 

Then there came a great struggle in his mind, and a 
temptation to do a vast good to the world by varying a little 
from the perfect plan. He told us of this temptation in a 
parable. He said, that being in the wilderness, and fasting, 
he became hungry; and Satan said, " If thou art really the 
Son of God, change these stones into bread." That was 
the first temptation. When he resisted it, and conquered 
it, Satan came again, and took him through the air to Jeru- 
salem, and put him on the lofty porch of Herod, overhanging 
the court of the Gentiles, which was filled with people. And 
while the people in this court, and in the courts of the women 
and Hebrews and priests, looked up and saw him, Satan 
said, "Cast thyself down, and let a cloud of angels gently 
uphold thee, and this shall be a sign by which all men shall 



216 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

know that thou art the Son of God." Having resisted this 
temptation also, Satan took him to the top of a high moun- 
tain, from which all the Roman Empire, and Persia, Asia, 
and Egypt, could be seen, and said, "If thou wilt worship 
me for one moment only, thou shalt rule all these kingdoms, 
and all shall belong to thy God, and obey him." And he 
told us how he resisted and conquered this temptation also, 
and how, when he next went to Jerusalem, he would go there 
to die. " Therefore I, also," said he, " have been tempted, 
and tempted deeply ; though I was tempted to do good, and 
not to do evil. But that made it harder to resist. Were 
I to make peace with the rulers, or with Herod and Pilate, 
they would willingly become my followers. Then I should 
be able to teach the whole people my truth, and they would 
all become my disciples and missionaries ; then would the 
mountain of the Lord's house be established above all the 
mountains, and all nations would flow into it, and the wor- 
ship of Yahveh would fill the earth. 

So solemn were these words, that we did not dare to say 
how little we understood them. How could we, then, in our 
ignorance, understand his temptations? Afterward I saw 
that this was a parable, in which Jesus had hidden the story 
of his own mighty struggle with the power of darkness, which 
came to him disguised as an angel of light. I knew well that 
it was no visible Satan who appeared to him, for that would 
have been no real temptation. For if ice were tempted thus, 
seeing that it was the devil who tempted us, even we could 
easily resist him. It is because he does not come in an}^ 
visible and outward form, that we yield to him. It is not 
hard for any one to resist the devil when he knows that it is 
the devil. No matter how hungry we were, if we saw the 
devil, and he offered to change stones into bread for us, we 
would not listen. If he promised us the wealth of the world, 
provided we were willing to worship him, we should refuse. 
Therefore this was not the great and terrible temptation which 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 217 

beset Jesus, but something else, of which this was only the 
allegory and the emblem. 

Thinking of it since, my children, I understand it as I 
could not then. The bread- temptation was the desire to live ; 
the temple-temptation was the desire to be recognized ; the 
mountain-temptation was the desire to accomplish. Jesus 
had the power of living the fullest human life which man can 
ever live, of growing up in all things into the stature of a 
perfect man. He had powers of thought which could open the 
doors of all knowledge ; powers of love which might draw to 
him all the noblest hearts of the earth ; powers which could 
enjoy all beauty of nature, all works of imagination, and go 
down into the depths of all experience. Nor did he belong 
to those who think religion requires us to renounce all this. 
He taught no doctrine of self-denial for the sake of self-denial. 
He loved this world, because it was full of his Father's love ; 
he loved this life, because it was the gift of his Father's good- 
ness ; he loved men, women, and children, because all were 
children of his Father. He had a soul tender, and open to all 
beauty, knowledge, and love. No one ever felt that hunger 
of the soul as he ; and he had the power to turn stones into 
bread to satisfy it. He could draw out the music of human 
hearts by a word ; could call easily a great society of the 
wisest and best of earth around him : but, if he did this, he 
could not do his work. He well knew that no man can serve 
two masters, even if both are good masters. If he was to 
become the Christ of God, he must consent to enter into that 
kingdom by a narrower path, renouncing all this varied 
experience. This was the cross which men did not see, but 
which he carried always. He must go on his lonely way 
without companions, without this bread of earthly joy, know- 
ing that man does not live by that bread only, but by every 
word which God sends to an obedient soul. So he resisted 
the bread- temptation, which asked him to live, and was will- 
ing to let his human mind and heart be always hungry, while 



218 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYJIUS. 

be finished the work God had given him to do. Thus he is 
the leader and master of all who must take up the cross of 
renunciation, and deny their innocent hopes when conscience 
commands, and j^et who do not appear imto men to fast. 

And as I thought of the second temptation, which was 
that of the temple, I believed that it was the desire not to 
know, but to be known : it was the wish to be seen and 
understood as he reall}^ was. No one understood him while 
he lived, not even the twelve whom he had chosen. VTe were 
like little children, who must be amused with stories in order 
to learn any thing. His own brothers did not believe in him. 
The people of his own town were angry, because he exalted 
himself, as if he were better than the rest of his neighbors. 
John the Baptizer was displeased because Jesus did not do 
his work in the way John considered right. Those who rever- 
enced John said that Jesus was a glutton and a wine-bibber, 
because he ate bread, and drank wine, like others, instead of 
feeding on locusts and wild honey. The wise men and rulers 
said, "He is a madman, a demagogue, a man without rever- 
ence for the powers which are ordained of God." Religious 
people said he blasphemed the sabbath and the temple, because 
he taught that these were made for man's use, and would 
pass away when their use was over. Filled with such preju- 
dices, men refused to listen to him : they closed their eyes 
and ears, and would not understand. His words were thrown 
away, like seed sown on the rock or by the wayside. But 
he, all the time, possessed the power by which he could 
change this hardness of heart into wonder, admiration, sub- 
mission. God had given him a wonderful power over nature 
and man, by which he could work might}^ signs and terrible 
portents in the midst of Jerusalem, in the presence of the 
rulers and all the people. God might give to angels charge 
over him, to bear him up in their hands, and thus overcome 
the force which makes every thing fall to the ground ; even 
as he once appeared to us to keep himself from sinking 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 219 

in the lake during the storm. He did not often speak of 
these strange powers, nor did he ever make any display of 
them. Had he only been willing, he mighi have placed 
himself on the top of the high portico, and trusted himself 
to angels, in the presence of the vast multitudes assembled 
for the Passover. As he floated before them, all would have 
said, "He who works such a sign is truly a prophet of 
God." All would have listened to his words, and their 
hearts would be opened to his truth. Thus are men moved 
by the sight of power. But this was a temptation, for it 
would have been using wrong means for a good end. What 
has truth to do with signs and wonders? He believed and 
said that only a wicked generation demands a sign. He 
could use nothing but truth for the sake of truth. He said 
to himself, " I have no right to tem^pt God, or to put myself 
into danger that he may save me. I have no right to aston- 
ish and confuse the minds of men, even though it be to teach 
them the truth. When God calls on me to use this wonder- 
ful power by sending to me one of his children to be healed 
or helped, then I will use it ; but I will not use it for my 
own sake, nor to make men believe in me." 

What a battle he fought to win this victory ! It would 
seem to most men a righteous action to use the power God 
gave to make men receive the truth God offered. By making 
them know him, he made them know the God who spoke 
through him. In all the religions of the world the priests 
used signs and wonders to convince and persuade. In our 
own history the prophets have often done this. The great 
El-jah called down fire from heaven to confound the false 
prophets, and then used this power to slay the priests of 
Baal. Our master was the first to declare that we must not 
use force to help the truth. This was one great temptation 
which he had overcome in his own soul. 

The MOUNTAIN-TEMPTATION was the third and last. Jesus 
had resisted the others, — first, the desire to show all that our 



220 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

earthl}^ life might contain ; and, seconcll}^, the desire to be 
known, and thus to make God known to men. The third 
temptation was the desire to accomplish, — to bring the whole 
world to God, and to become the King of men by leading 
all men to accept the truth. 

He saw that he could do this, if he would, for one moment, 
use a little art, — condescend a little to the prejudices of men, 
be willing to make allies of the priests, the Pharisees, Herod, 
Pilate, Rome. The strait road led to death and defeat : 
the broad road, winding a little first to the right and then to 
the left, led to victory. Why could he not bend and turn, — 
be wise as a serpent, and yet harmless as a dove? He 
commended prudence : why not, for the sake of a greater 
good, bear for a while the presence of an evil too strong to be 
overcome at once? Thus spoke the Tempter, tempting the 
master b}^ his very wisdom and sagacity, as he had before 
tempted him by his hope and love. But the master knew that 
it was the Devil, disguised as an angel, who asked for his 
worship, and refused to vary from the law of God, even to 
accomplish the will of God. 

All this I learned later, turning these words of Jesus over 

in my mind ; but at the time we took this story according to 

the letter, and did not see the meaning of the parable of 

temptation. We could not then perceive at all what was 

its sense. How could we understand the struggle in that 

mighty soul, when he conquered forever the ver}^ love of 

good, which was the temptation ? Others must contend with 

the wish to do wrong ; but he, with the desire to do right, 

and to make the world the kingdom of God. But when 

this terrible battle was fought and won, he had no more 

. ^ conflict with himself, no more hesitation or doubt. He 

i ^J alone, of all men, believed that God could reign onl}' over 

\^^^ willing minds and hearts, and that no force, no craft, is 

needed or can be allowed for this end. He walked straight 

on through death to victory, through defeat to triumph. I 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 221 

once read how Sokrates had said that Anytus and Melitus 
might kill him, but could not hurt him. Jesus knew that the 
scribes and rulers might kill him, but could not hurt the 
truth to which he bore witness. Such calm assurance had 
he gained from the temptation. 

Though we did not know the meaning of this story, we 
felt that our master had been through as great trials as we 
had ; had looked in the face of evil, like ourselves ; had 
been tortured by desires and hopes which we also had to 
resist. Thus, after hearing this story, he was nearer to us 
than erer. He was high above us, and yet by our side. 
Having suffered, having been tempted, he could help us in 
our temptations. I saw in the face of Miriam a hope which 
conquered her doubts. A new wave of peace flowed over 
her as she listened to the master. 

And on this same day, while we sat under the ilex-grove, 
and saw great Hermon soaring to the sky, his top covered 
with his white head-dress of snow, and as we saw below the 
marble walls of the city glittering through the green leaves, 
Jesus said to us, "Tell me, children, what men say of me. 
"What do they call me ? Whom think they that I am ? " 

And we told him what we had heard, — how all thought 
that he was one of the great prophets who would come 
before the Christ. Some said he was surely John the Bap- 
tist, come again from the dead ; because he preached repent- 
ance and goodness of life, as John had done. And others 
said, "He is El-jah, the prophet of power; for Herod is 
afraid of him, and so are the priests and rulers." And 
others said, " Noi but he is rather Jeremiah, the prophet of 
gentleness and sympathy ; for he loves all the people, high 
and low, the good and the bad, and is tender to all." 

Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "But whom say 
ye that I am?" And we looked at each other, but no one 
spoke. Then Simon raised his face, and a sudden light 
passed over it. Springing to his feet, and throwing his 



222 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDTMUS. 

hands into the ah', he cried out, '-I know who thou art. 
Yes : thou art the One who is to -come, the very Christ him- 
self, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus lifted up his 
hands also, and, looking upon Simon, said, '*! bless thee, 
Simon, as God also has blessed thee in gi^^-ng thee this 
sight of the truth. I see well that this is not a hearsay 
thing, which thou hast picked up from others, but a convic- 
tion of thine own soul. I called thee 'my rock,' and thou 
shalt be my rock, on which I will build my living house, 
made up of pm-e souls. All those who can see in me the 
true Christ of God shall be stones in that temple ; and while 
this living faith lasts, this new temple shall never be cast 
down. The temple on the mountain at Jerusalem may be 
overthrown, but whoever sees God's power and love in me 
belongs to an eternal temple not made with hands. This is 
the new Jerusalem which shall come down from heaven, and 
fill the world. Doubt not. but, whatever becomes of me, 
hold to this faith. 

"Again I say to thee. Peter, that, in this truth which 
thou hast uttered, thou hast the key by which to open the 
door of this heavenly temple to all mankind. Thou dost 
speak on earth, but heaven hears and answers. "Whenever 
a man faithfully utters his real conviction, he opens the door 
through which souls shall pass up to the presence of God : 
he opens the way for them not only into a kingdom on earth, 
but also to a kingdom in heaven. But if, through fear of 
man, he is silent, then he binds the door to its post, and 
prevents those who might enter into God's love from doing 
so ; for, when we see the truth, great are the consequences 
which depend on our fidelity. Beware, Peter, how thou dost 
use this key, or neglect to use it." 

And, when he said this to Peter, he meant the warning for 
us all ; and, indeed, a few days after, he told us all the same 
thing, — that what we bound on earth should be bound in 
heaven, and what we loosed on earth should be loosed in 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNUSTG THE COMING KINGDOM. 223 

heaven. By binding and loosing, he meant, to open and 
shut ; for in Syria the doors are locked by twisted ropes, 
and opened by a crooked stick or key, which untwists them. 

This he said, with a joy in his eyes I had seldom seen. 
Then he spoke again, and his voice was like tender music in 
our ears. 

" No, my children, there is a power in what God has given 
me to reveal, which is immortal. Death cannot touch it, 
but it will conquer death. Therefore be not alarmed, if 
those who hate me seem to triumph ; for the decisive hour 
is at hand. 

"We go to Jerusalem soon, and for the last time. You 
have seen me patient while I have taught in Galilee, but now 
you will see me firm. The hour has come for words of 
strength : the final struggle is at hand. Those who have 
power in their hands, by whom the people have been led, 
must see a mightier power than their own in their midst, or 
they will not submit. 

"But I see plainly that they will not yield. So long 
they have ruled, that they will not surrender. They will 
verily think that they ought to kill me, and they will kill 
me. Children, you go to Jerusalem to see me die." 

Terror and doubt came over us at these words. We all 
said, " It must not be ; it ought not to be. We know that 
they wish to kill him, and there we cannot defend him ; but 
here^ in Galilee, he is loved by all, and no one would dare 
to hurt a hair of his head. Let us set up the kingdom here, 
in Galilee." Thus we spoke each one to his neighbor, as we 
sat on the ground. 

But Peter — still the one to go forward and utter the com- 
mon feeling, proud, also, because of the praise of the 
master — uttered aloud that which we had all been saying to 
each other. He once more sprang to his feet, and said, 
"O master! how canst thou speak thus? This ought not 
to be. Tliou must not go there to die. Stay here, and be 



224 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED Dn)YMUS. 

^ith us many years. Take pity on thyself master, and do 
not throw awa}^ thy life." 

Then I saw another look in the master's face, such as a 
father has when his child cries out foolishly for what he 
ought not to have. It was a look of reproachful love, mild 
but firm, as though he looked down on us from some height 
where he could see what we could not. He looked at us all 
in tm-n, Ivuowing that we all shared the opinion of Simon ; 
and then, fixing his eyes on him, he said, "Peter, thou who 
wert a moment before my prophet, art now my Satan, tempt- 
ing me to disobey God. Get thee behind me, Satan ! Do 
not make th^'self a stumbling-stone in the path I must go. 
Get behind me ! that I may not see thee nor hear thee ; for 
now thou speakest not what God has shown unto thee, but 
what the world has taught thee. Call the people together, 
and I will speak unto thee and unto all." 

And when the people, who had been standing at a dis- 
tance, were called, they gladly came nearer, to listen to the 
master. And he spoke to us all, saj-ing that no man must 
fear death in the cause of truth ; for, if a man has made him- 
self ready for death, he speaks without fear. Death is not 
a bad thing when God sends it to us in the midst of our 
work for him : it is a good thing, and to be welcomed. 
Thus he spoke, and his words gave us com'age ; so that we 
no more resisted his going among his enemies. VTe saw 
that he had looked in the face of death, and was ready to 
meet any danger that came to him in his work ; and we felt 
that a great hour of decision was at hand. 

And I, too, not thinking of what I said, cried out, "Let 
us also go, and die with him." And the master smiled at 
the energy of my cry, and said to me, "Thomas, though 
thou hast not faith, thou art faithful." And I long remem- 
bered his words. 

Yet it seemed very strange to us. If he were the Christ 
of God, — come to set up the last great kingdom on earth, 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 225 

and rule the world in righteousness, — how could he be put 
to death by his enemies? He also told us that he should 
rise up on the third day. But why should he let them 
kill him, if he were to rise up into life on the third day? 
It was a mystery to all of us, but to me more than a mys- 
tery. It seemed like an illusion. It was a noble illusion, 
but still an illusion. If he died, he died forever. To me 
there was no other life after this one. Nor was there in my 
heart any faith in God. I had studied in Egypt the philoso- 
phy of Epikuros, which taught that all things come by forces 
driving atoms through space ; and all I had seen of life 
appeared to prove it true. I had seen the noblest souls 
wrecked, and the basest ones triumph. And now I saw 
before me another such great tragedy about to be finished. 
I knew the bitter hatred which surrounded him, which threat- 
ened him even here among his friends, and which would 
have him wholly in its power at Jerusalem. Even among^his 
own missionaries there was one whom I distrusted. Judas 
of Karioth was .plainly dissatisfied and gloomy. He was 
brooding over some secret scheme, which might bring ruin 
on the master. And, if the master would only concede a 
little, all might go well. If, for a short time only, he would 
not oppose the Pharisees or Separate Ones ; if he would be 
willing to join their party, or any other, — he might be safe. 
Thus I thought. The Pharisees, if he were on their side, 
would protect him, hoping to use his great influence for their 
own purposes. The Sadducees would do the same. He 
had many friends among the school of Hillel. The Essenes 
would follow his teachings with joy. There were thousands 
who would lay down their lives for him, if he would put 
himself at their head. In a week's time he could drive 
Herod from Galilee ; and Rome, politic to success, would 
confirm him as Prince of Syria. 

But no : since I heard the story of the three temptations, 
I knew that he must go his own way. He could do God's 



226 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

will, and finish God's work, only in the way God taught 
him to do it. He stood firm on the instincts of his own 
soul. 

"But how," said I, " can I believe in God, when I see 
this ruin coming near? Has this world, in its long life, ever 
seen such wonderful power and beauty as his ? If this earth 
is to be purified from evil, he has the force with which to 
do it. John the Baptizer, who knew him so well, said, ' He 
is the Lamb of God, who can take away the sin of the whole 
world.' There is goodness enough in him to make the 
world pure, wisdom enough to make it wise, love enough to 
make it happy always and forever. Let him only be known, 
as we know him, and all men will come to him : they could 
not help it. And j^et he is to die before he has had time even 
to become known : so he cannot do what he was made to do. 

"Is there, then, a God? There may be gods, like those 
of Epikuros, who care not what happens on earth. But 
there is no such God as He to whom I sang in the Psalms 
of David ; who cares for the upright man, and makes him 
like a tree planted near a river of water. Only bad men 
triumph in this world : good men are hated and killed. So 
the men of Athens hated and killed Sokrates, as I read in 
the books of Plato. So they will kill our master ; and that 
will be like putting out the sun of this world." 

Thus I thought, waiting for what was to come. My mind 
was confused by these mysteries. While he spoke of going 
to die at Jerusalem, — an event which I also believed to be 
sure, — he spoke also of "rising up," and said that he 
should come very soon in the clouds, with the glory of the 
Father, with the angels, and that this would happen during 
the lifetime of some of those present. Who could under- 
stand such prophecies as these? 

We staid in this region nearly six days, during which time 
the master saw many people, and spoke many words con- 
cerning the kingdom that was soon to appear. 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 227 

But, when the seventh day came, he took the three who 
were nearest to him, — Shuon Peter and the two sons of 
Zebedee, — and went with them into the upper part of the 
mountain called Hermon. Something very strange hap- 
pened there. But the three disciples spoke not of it until 
long after. Then they told me that the master said, that, as 
he was soon to go to Jerusalem, he must pray to God to 
show him what to say and do, and to make him ready for 
whatever might happen. And they, also, were at a lit- 
tle distance, pTa3nng to G-od. After a time they saw a 
strange sight. Jesus had prayed so long, that they were 
weary, and, overcome with sleep, had sunk into a dream. 
In the midst thereof they were roused, and looked up, 
and, behold, the master's face and whole body seemed sur- 
rounded with a pure white light, which flowed out in waves. 
And as this light extended farther, and filled some space 
around him, two shadowy forms appeared in it. The three, 
who were now all awake, saw them ; and they knew, but did 
not tell me how, that they were Moses, the great giver of 
our law, and El-jah, the greatest of prophets after him. 
And they heard words which these two spake, telling the 
master that he should conquer all evil by dying, and cause 
the law of God, which they had taught, to become still more 
powerful. Such words they heard, or seemed to hear ; for 
their minds were filled with confused fears and astonish- 
ment. But Peter, as though talking to himself more than to 
Jesus, said,. "It is good to be here. What peace and joy 
is here ! Cannot we stay here always, and build huts, and 
never go away?" Thus he muttered, talking uncertainly; 
for all things seemed well and safe in that presence. But 
in a moment all was gone, and Jesus was alone. And he 
commanded them not to speak of it until he had ascended 
up out of death into greater life. 

This is the story they afterward told me. And some 
thought it a dream. But how could three persons dream 



228 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

at once the same thing? Others said, that, as certain living 
creatures can give out light from their bodies, it would not 
be strange for some men to have the same power. Others 
thought that it was the glory of God, which surrounded 
Jesus, and made an ether about him, in which the two great 
prophets could be seen and heard by him. And even to 
this day I am uncertain what to think of it. Nor is it 
necessary to decide thereupon ; since, whatever it was, it was 
meant, as I suppose, for the master himself, to give him 
strength for Avhat was soon to come. 

After this we began to go toward the south, leaving this 
region under Mount Hermon, where Pan, or universal nature, 
had been worshipped ; and we went toward Kaphar-nahum. 
Man}^ things were done and said by the master, only a few 
of which I can now narrate. For in truth 1 often think of 
what our brother missionary John once said, that, if all the 
w^ords and acts of the master were written down in books, the 
world could not contain the books which would be written. 

At this time we were wonderfulty moved with the hope 
that our master would immediately assume the kingdom, and 
make Judsea the queen of nations. Though he had told us 
that he should be killed, we thought little of it ; for we 
understood him to say, that, three days after, he should 
ascend his throne. We therefore believed, that, when his 
enemies tried to kill him, he would confound them by some 
mighty wonder ; so that the whole nation would take him for 
their King. And we began to ask what offices we should 
have in this kingdom. Some said that Peter and his brother 
would be chief counsellors ; for Simon was the first who had 
openly declared that the master was to be King of Israel, 
and the master had blessed him for this. Others said that 
the sons of Zebedee were dearer to the master's heart than 
any others, and that these would have the two chief places. 
And so we were divided ; one part declaring that Peter and 
his l)rothcr ought to be first, and the others saying the same 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 229 

for John and his brother. Men grow hot while thus disput- 
ing ; and in a little while our whole company took sides, and 
contended together. One day, as we walked, the master 
being in front, we thus debated, and knew not that he 
heard us. But, while we were resting for our noonday meal, 
the master turned to us who were sitting on his right hand, 
and said, "What were ye disputing about by the way?" 
And we looked at each other, and said nothing. Now, there 
were some women and children standing at a little distance, 
waiting, if, perchance, the master might speak to them. 
Jesus arose, and went to the women, and took one of their 
little children, about the age of three or four years ; and 
he led the little child toward us, and sat down in our 
midst, having his arm around the little child, who stood by 
his side. Then he told us that those who wished for high 
places in his kingdom must not seek to exalt themselves 
over their brethren ; must not wish to gain power, and to be 
looked up to, and receive gifts. " No," said he, "let them 
rather be like this little child. Look at him. He is happy to 
do what my Father puts into his heart each day. He is will- 
ing to follow, and does not wish to lead. Thus he is nearer 
to my kingdom in his innocence than you are, while you are 
thinking only of gaining great honors for yourselves." 

Arising, he took the little child in his arms. And while the 
child looked around him, wondering, the master told us to 
seek for the little children among men, — those whose hearts 
were simple and humble, — and bring them to him and to his 
Father. He said, "When ye thus receive them in my name, 
ye receive me ; and, when ye receive me, ye receive not me, 
but Him who sent me. For I am nothing, and my Father is 
every thing : I am one with him : I seek not my own things, 
but only his. When ye seek not your own things, but those 
of God, then ye, also, shall be one with me and my Father." 

While he spake, our hearts were melted within us. His 
words were so full of truth and love, that as in a furnace 



230 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYSIUS. 

iron is softened, and flows like water, so soft did our souls 
grow while he spake. Since that day, whenever I see a little 
child, there is something sacred to me in his innocence. 
When I put the water of baptism on a child, I say to 
myself what the Baptizer said to Jesus, " I have need to be 
baptized of thee; and comest thou to me?" However, 
Jesus spoke of the child which is in the heart of the humble. 
He meant that we should look for him, not among those who 
are proud and powerful, and confident in themselves ; nor 
seek to make friends of these : but we must look rather 
to those who are lowest in the world's esteem, regarding 
them chiefly in all our work, since God often hides things 
from the wise and prudent which he reveals to babes. I find 
it needful to remember this when I go out to preach the 
gospel. If I see some rajah, or rich man, or any man 
renowned for learning, in the crowd, listening, I am apt to 
think, " If I can convert him to Christ, he will greatly increase 
our strength." Therefore I must remind myself often, that 
the master did not say, ' ' Whosoever receiveth a learned 
rabbi, or a praetor, in my name, receiveth me." Let us 
know that those men and women who are little children in 
their hearts are most apt to hear the word and to do it. 

When Jesus said, '' Receive them in my name," Johann 
the disciple was reminded by these words of something else, 
and said, " Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy 
name ; and we forbade him, because he followed not with 
us." And Jesus, answering, said, " Forbid him not ; " and 
then told us that whoever was doing good in his name was a 
friend of his in his heart, and was really on his side, though 
he might not join his kehilah (for each Jewish community 
was called a kehilah^ which, in the Greek language, is ecde- 
sia, or church) . Thus Jesus taught us that those who did 
good really belonged to him, though they did not join his 
kehilah, or community. 

I have heard, my children, that in the countries of the 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 231 

West, where are now great multitudes of disciples, they are 
divided and broken up into many kehilahs. And they call 
themselves by different names. Those who follow Peter make 
the ' ' Kehilah of Peter ; ' ' and others are the ' ' Kehilah of 
Apollos ; " and others, the "Kehilah of Paul." And one 
says of another, ' ' He is not of Christ, because he follows not 
with us in our kehilah.'' I much wonder that the heads of 
the community do not tell them how Jesus himself said that 
this man who did not join his kehilah was yet on his side, 
because he was doing good works in the name of the master, 
and that those who are not against him are with him. 

After Jesus had said this, he told us to be very tender to 
all little children, meaning, I think, all who were children in 
heart. Even to give one of them a cup of cold water, in 
love, would make us inwardly blessed. 

Then he taught us to be very careful not to do or say any 
thing to harm the souls of these innocent ones. Better be 
drowned in the sea than to lead others astray. It is a heaven- 
ly thing to lead men upward, but a dreadful thing to lead 
them downward. Better be blind, or lame, or lose the hand 
from the body, than to feel in the soul that we have done 
evil which can never be undone through eternal worlds. 
That will be a fire in the soul which will never be quenched, 
and a worm of remorse which will never die, as the prophet 
Isaiah has said. 

These words were like arrows with barbed points, which 
entered the mind, and could not be taken out again. And, 
to make us more careful not to despise the humble souls 
whose hearts are childlike, he said that all these little ones 
see God's face, and their spirits are inwardly beholding him. 
He added, that God so loves every child, that he does not 
choose that one should perish in the death of sin, but that all 
should be brought to him. The Father feels toward every 
sinful soul, as the shepherd feels who has lost a lamb ; who 
leaves all the other sheep to go and look for this one lost 



232 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

lamb, and does not stop until he finds it. Thus he taught 
us of the infinite pity of the heavenly Father. 

One of us then said, "Master, what shall we do, if one 
of our company wrong us, and does not repent of it? " 

He answered, and told us that it would be wise to go to 
him alone first, and tell him of his fault ; for his pride might 
not be roused to lead him to defend himself when he and 
another were together alone. He added, "But, if he will 
not hear thee, then take another with thee : perhaps he may 
hear two, when he will not hear one. But if he still refuses 
to confess that he is wrong, then call together the whole Tcehi- 
lah, and let them decide. If he will not hear the Tcehilah^ 
then he puts himself outside of yom- body. You must treat 
him then as you would treat a heathen or a publican." 

One of the disciples asked, " How ought we to treat them? 
Shall we exclude them from our company, and shut them 
out?" 

I do not remember the answer of Jesus to this ; but I know 
he often told us that the way to treat a heathen or a publican 
is not to shut him out, but to bring him in. Therefore I 
think he would say that we should treat in the same way 
our brother who refuses to hear the church ; that is, convert 
him again. Let the whole chm'ch unite to seek this one 
sheep who has gone astray, and not let him perish in the 
wilderness. Otherwise, if we shut him out, and refuse to 
eat with him, we are not Christ's church, but a church of 
Pharisees. 

Simon Peter asked how often he ought to forgive his 
brother, — whether seven times would be sufficient. But 
Jesus said, " No; but seventy times seven." And then he 
told one of his stories, to show us, that, if God forgave us 
all our sins against him, we ought to forgive others whose 
sins against us are much less. 

Oh ! how beautiful were the days in which he thus talked 
■^ith us, as we sat under the shade of the trees, with the 



WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 233 

warm air flowing around us, and among a people who all 
loved the master ! How peaceful and happy were those 
hours ! How little we thought that a few weeks would bring 
such horror, yet such despair, such glory, such new hope, 
and new power ! 



234 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 

About this time I first began to be aware of some pertur- 
bations in the mind of Judah of Karioth, one of the twelve 
missionaries. Often he sat, absorbed in gloomy silence, and 
then suddenly interrupted the conversation with an abrupt 
question. Sometimes he would cry out, " When will it be 
time to begin? " He seemed to long for some action, some 
struggle, and to be discontented because of the master's 
delay. His dark soul, consumed inwardly with ambition, 
was dissatisfied because he could not take the lead. In all 
things he wished to be master, and 3'et his mind was not 
large enough or clear enough to do any thing well. I often 
said, "Why did the master choose such a man, who is not 
at one with his thoughts, but pursues a gloomy purpose of 
his own?" And I once thought of asking him the ques- 
tion, but said to myself, " He will reply, ' Why did I choose 
thee, O Thomas? for thy thoughts, also, are not at one with 
mine.' " And thus I was silent. But as I watched the mas- 
ter in his talk with Judah (or Judas as we often called him, 
for the names are one), I wondered at his patience ; for he 
sought steadily to lead him up to something better. He 
showed him how much greater it would be to convert his 
enemies than to destroy them ; that the invincible majesty of 
Good must triumph ; that he knew himself to be the power 
of Truth and Love. And while he spoke, Judah could not 
resist his speech, and softened ; but afterward his bitter and 
impatient mood returned. 



JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 235 

One day an event occurred which showed me many things, 
and filled me with alarm for the master. I discovered a 
dark conspiracy spreading itself around him, seeking his 
destruction. 

I was walking on a road which leads over the hills from. 
Kaphar-nahum, when I remembered a path through the 
woods which would shorten the distance. I entered the 
woods, but after a little time I lost my way. The day was 
calm and the sun bright ; and I felt no anxiety, but went 
forward, pushing through the bushes, or going round them, 
and sometimes stopping to listen to the waterfalls, whose 
distant murmur showed me on which side lay the lake. 
Once, when I thus paused, I heard voices near by. I went 
toward the place to ask of the speakers the right direction. 
Going around some low thorny bushes overrun with vines, 
I came upon two men, who were talking to each other so 
earnestly and so loudly, that they did not see me until I had 
discovered them to be Judat^of Karioth, and the dark-minded 
Ben-Gamlah, who had misled Miriam to her ruin. Anger 
rushed into my soul as I saw him ; but some good angel 
restrained me, and the thought came into my mind, that, for 
the master's sake, I must be calm, and find out what plot was 
secretly contrived. So I stepped up with a smile, and said, 
"I am happy in meeting you, for I have gone astray in the 
wood." Ben-Gamlah darted at me a keen look of suspicion. 
Judah started, as one detected in some crime, and became 
pale. Then I knew that my fears were well grounded ; but 
all the more I concealed them, saying lightly, " But what 
are you talking of here in these woods? for your voices 
sounded, as I approached, like those of men in some debate. 
Are you talking of the terrors of Herod ? For men tell me 
he thinks our master Jesus is the Baptizer, come back from 
the dead to punish him. How is this, Ben-Gamlah ; for you 
surely know, as you see Herod often? " 

Thus I spoke, desirous of preventing their suspicions, and 



236 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

of appearing as not doubting any thing of their purpose. 
Their fears were thus allayed ; and Ben-Gamlah spake, — 

"Not so, Thomas. But we wondered at the wisdom and 
power of your master, and how every day he makes hosts 
of friends. No such man has arisen in Israel during many 
generations. Antipas, indeed, is, as you say, greatly troubled 
because of him, and, I think, justly. For each morning, when 
I arise, I look from the window in my house at Tiberias, 
toward the palace, to see if your master and his followers 
have not burst like a flood into the city, and conquered it, 
and placed the standard of David before the palace, where 
now stand the Eagles of Rome." 

But I knew that he said this to try me ; for his art was 
deeper than the deepest part of our lake, where no plummet 
has found the bottom. Therefore I, made still more care- 
ful, answered thus : — 

" Our master has no such design. He uses no spear, nor 
sword, nor weapon of war. Wherever he goes, he goes 
teaching, and doing good works. Herod Antipas need not 
fear him ; for he is neither the ghost of the Baptizer, nor 
the leader of rebellion against Rome." 

Ben-Gamlah replied, " Thou art right to speak thus, O 
Thomas, for the servant should not betray his master. 
When the day arrives, we shall see what he will do. Thy 
master is very wise, and waits the proper hour. But Judah, 
here, does not agree with thee ; for he thinks thy master will 
claim to be the Messiah, Son of David, and seize the thi'one 
of the great king at Jerusalem." 

Then Judah of Karioth said, "Certainly he must: he 
ought, he will. What else does it all mean? If the impious 
Romans who put theii" foot on God's people are not con- 
quered, how can God's kingdom come? Can you kill a 
tiger with a maiden's song, or by putting some of the oint- 
ment of a physician on his claws ? The sword must come 
first : truth and peace will come afterward." 



JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 237 

So spake Judah. And I, willing to know his mind further, 
made as though I were ready to be convinced, and replied, — 

" But do not the Scriptures say that the Messiah, when he 
comes, shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and 
slay the wicked with the breath of his lips ? Does not this 
mean that truth is to be his shield and sword ? And do not 
the prophets declare, that in his reign the lion shall eat straw 
like the ox, and lie down with the lamb? That surely means 
a reign of peace." 

Judah answered, " Yes, truly. I expect peace to come, 
but it will be after war. The Baptizer said, that, before the 
Christ shall come, every mountain and hill shall be brought 
low. The mountain is the power of Rome : the hill means 
the power of the chief priests and rulers at Jerusalem. Ben- 
Gamlah agrees with me therein ; for he, being a Pharisee, 
does not love the priests, who are mostly Sadducees and 
unbelievers. But, Thomas, the master himself means that we 
shall fight. Didst thou not hear him say (he said it sadly, 
I know, for he loves peace too well) , — but didst not thou 
hear him say, ' I am not come to send peace, but a sword ' ? 
He knows well, and so do we, that we must first fight. And 
our people are ready. They only wait his word to take him 
for their Christ, their King. Why does he then delay ? If 
we wait much longer, the time may pass by. He is too 
good : he cannot bear the bloodshed and misery which must 
go before him, and make his path smooth. Dost thou not 
know, Thomas, that this is so? " 

I answered, " How can I know it, since this is all new to 
me? Art thou sure the master is the Coming One? He 
does not say so, and he has forbidden us from saying it." 

Ben-Gamlah replied, "Yes, Thomas; and I praise his 
wisdom in this, for the time had not come. I repeat what 
I said, Thy master is a wise man, and can see the signs of 
the times. I laughed at his answer to some of our foolish 
Pharisees, who asked him for a sign of his coming. He 



238 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DTOYMUS. 

said, ' Ye can tell by the appearance of the sky when it is 
to be fair or wet weather. Can ye not see the signs of the 
times, and know whether my coming is near? ' Thy master 
is, perhaps, too cautious, and waits too long. But, when he 
sees that all things are ready, he will move suddenly. Then 
let Herod and Pilate, and the priests who pollute the temple, 
'basely obedient to the Eomans, beware. He will strike one 
blow, and will not have to strike a second. Thou mayst 
think, Thomas, that I am his enemy ; but thou seest I believe 
in his power more than thou dost. • Thou only believest in 
him as a prophet of truth and love. I believe that also ; but 
I believe, beside, that he is a king of power, who will set 
up again the everlasting throne of David at Jerusalem." 

I answered, "I, also, heard him say that he came, not to 
bring peace, but a sword. Yet I thought his meaning was, 
that men always resisted new truth, and fought against it, 
and that thus war would come." 

Ben-Gamlah said, "And what is the difference, whether 
he takes the sword himself, or says that which will make 
others fight? Better take the sword himself, and so, by war, 
put a speedy end to war. And I am v^aite sure he means 
this. Only I fear he may postpone it too long." 

Then Judah of Karioth cried out, ' ' He must not wait : 
he must not ! Can we not in some way hasten his action ? 
If, for once, he would go into Tiberias, into the presence of 
Herod, I would myself - strike a dagger into the tyrant's 
heart, and declare it to be done in the cause of Jesus the 
great King. Then any more waiting would not be possible. 
But he never goes near Herod or Pilate. I have been with 
him twice at Jerusalem, at the great feasts ; but then he 
goes unattended, and only as a private man. He does no 
wonders : he only talks in the courts of the temple with 
the doctors, and not to the multitudes in tlie streets, as he 
does in Galilee. What can we do, Thomas, to hasten the 
time?" 



JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 239 

Then I, seeing I knew their thoughts, opened the door of 
my mouth, and spake my mind plainly. 

" We are his disciples, Judah, and he is the master. The 
disciple is not above his master, to teach him what to say 
or do, or when it is time for him to speak. Has not Ben- 
Gamlah just said that Jesus is very wise, and knows the right 
time for every thing? There is a time for every purpose 
under heaven. If thou dost try to hasten him, and to bring 
on the conflict too soon, thou wilt be like a foolish soldier, 
who, when his centurion hath placed his men in ambush, 
grows tired of waiting, and calls out to the enemy, ' Here 
we are, come quickly.' I, also, believe that if our master 
is more than a prophet, if he is to be the King of Israel, 
he will have to smite with the sword. But, while I am his 
disciple, I will obey him, and do as he commands. When 
I believe in him no longer, I will not betray him, but openly 
leave him." So I spake, looking at Judah, who scowled 
angrily at me, and muttered, "I am no more a traitor than 
thyself." But Ben-Gamlah, fearing he had gone too far, 
said in pacific tones, " We have only been exchanging our 
thoughts, Thomas : we are glad to learn thy mind. I think, 
with thee, that our friend Judah is too hasty. The master, 
no doubt, knoweth best what he would do." Thus speaking, 
we went on our several ways. 

I have a package of letters which were written at this 
time between the Rabbi Ben-Gamlah of Tiberias and his 
friend the Rabbi Ishmael at Jerusalem. Many years after 
they were written, and when neither of the writers was 
alive, they were brought to me one day at Jerusalem by a 
woman whose face was veiled, and who immediately dis- 
appeared. On the outside were written these words, "For 
Thomas, the friend of the Galilean Prophet." I never knew 
who the woman was, nor how she obtained the letters ; and I 
have never yet shown, them, not knowing whether it was right 



240 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

to do SO. But now, when all who acted in this solemn trage- 
dy have passed from the earth, and when truth demands 
that whatsoever hath been hidden shall be made known, I 
shall copy these letters at this place of my story. They 
will show what feelings of rage and scorn, of hatred and 
fear, filled the minds of many of the rulers of Israel, when 
they saw the growing power of the prophet of Nazareth. 



LETTER I. 

RABBI BEX-GAMLAH TO RABBI ISHMAEL. 

I WRITE this epistle to you privately, and send it by a sure 
hand, — that of my disciple Reuben, — that you may know, and 
communicate to our brethren, what I have learned since I came to 
Tiberias. 

The ministry trusted to me by our secret council was to watch 
the proceedings of this man of Nazareth, who seemeth to be mak- 
ing himself a prophet, and a leader of the people. I was directed 
to take measures to expose his imposture, if I thought fit to do so ; 
but I was also told to act very cautiously and secretly in the 
matter, and to refer to the Council of Five for instruction. 

This is what I have done. I carried the letters from the chief 
priest to the tetrarch, Herod Antipas, in his city of Tiberias, — a 
polluted place, built over ancient tombs ; but outwardly it is fair 
to behold. Antipas gave me a room in his palace and a seat at 
his table. He is a man easily led by his appetites. As my first 
duty was to acquire power over him to use in our holy cause, I 
brought to him for a wife a beautiful Jewish girl named Miriam, 
whom I induced to consent by telling her she might so become the 
savior of her nation, like Esther, Queen of Xerxes. But I found 
her not easy to lead, and too ready to follow her own thoughts : 
therefore I so arranged matters as to bring her into disgrace with 
the tetrarch, and cause her to be banished. I was a little moved 
by this girl's despair at being thus thrown aside, like a broken 
tool. But what are the pains of a few to the triumph of the holy 
cause? If we sacrifice ourselves for it^ may we not sacrifice 
others? 



JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 241 

A more important matter is that of which you have heard, and 
in which you may have traced my hand. I had seen Herodias, 
wife of Philip, who was her own uncle, and I found her a woman 
suited to my purpose. I called the notice of Antipas to her 
beauty, and persuaded her that she was bound to leave her hus- 
band, who was her uncle, and therefore one whom, as a grand- 
daughter of a high priest, she ought never to have married. She 
had been living in Tiberias some time, for the use of the hot baths. 
I gradually became her spiritual director, and she followed my 
advice in all things. I sent her frequently to Herod, and saw 
gladly their love. You and I, O rabbi, are far above such feel- 
ings ; but we may use these also for that great cause which is to 
make Judaea again the queen of nations, and set the Lord's house 
above other temples. Finally Antipas took her publicly for his 
wife. By this I secured three important ends : I removed Miriam, 
who is now my enemy, from any hope of regaining the favor of 
Herod; I have placed near to Herod this woman of many charms, 
who can lead him as she will, and whom I lead also, in turn ; and 
finally, by this same act, I brought about the ruin of that danger- 
ous man of power, John the Baptizer, who was so foolish as pub- 
licly to denounce this marriage as a great crime in Antipas. As 
soon as he did this, I knew that the Lord had delivered him into 
my hands. The tetrarch's love for Herodias was too great to 
bear hearing her called an adulteress, as John had the audacity 
to do to his very face. Herod, until that time, had been fond of 
listening to John, and was pleased with his teaching. He loved 
to hear him denounce the sins of the priests and rulers, the high 
and low. He used to say, " Truly that man is a righteous man. 
He fears no one." But on this day, as Herod and Herodias sat 
together listening to him, John turned toward them, and said 
with a loud cry, " Put away that adulterous woman, O thou that 
defiest the law of God ! " And then the tetrarch rose in mighty 
anger, and ordered his soldiers to seize John, and convey him as 
a prisoner to the Castle of Machserus, on the eastern shore of the 
Sea of Death, where no rescue was possible. 

I fed the anger of the tetrarch against John, saying that John 
himself knew well that this marriage was not adultery, but had 
rather put an end to the incestuous connection with her own uncle. 
That was indeed a great sin, and could never be a marriage by 



242 THE LEGEXD OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

our law. To put a stop to that union was a righteous action, of 
which neither he nor Herodias need be ashamed. I said that 
John's only motive was to get the praise of the people by affecting 
to imitate El-jah's denunciation of Ahab. But still I found that 
some respect for John remained in the king's mind. (He is no 
king, but to please him I have called him so, until I have ac- 
quired the habit of using this word.) In truth, the great party 
of Herodians have encouraged John as a powerful ally 2(gainst 
our party of Pharisees, and against the priesthood. None of his 
bitter sayings, nor those of his follower Jesus, are uttered against 
them : all are spoken to oppose us. John did not care whether the 
Romans or the Herodian kings governed us : all he pretended to 
desire was that the Jews should forsake their sins. 

Herod's friends had persuaded him that he, Herod, might be 
accepted as the Christ who is to come. As ice consider such 
things, this is idle and foolish. But in order to govern men we 
must be one with their thought, and look out of their eyes. I 
have therefore studied with care the opinions of these Herodians ; 
I have seemed to them to sit at their feet as an humble disciple : 
thus they have shown me their inmost thoughts. 

They speak thus : " To resist the power of Rome is an idle 
dream. The Pharisees, who teach the people that they can do 
this, are the worst enemies of the nation. Do we not remember 
how the great Mithridates, whom the Persians called ' gift of the 
sun,' — the richest monarch, the greatest soldier of our day, ruler 
of Asia and of its islands, the most daring of heroes, — was de- 
feated by the unconquerable Roma,ns? What Tie could not do with 
his vast armies, immense riches, and military skill, can we hope 
to do ? But, if Roman governors rule us, our religion will be 
overthrown, and our nation be swallowed up, and disappear. 
We need a protector against Rome, to whom the Romans are 
friendly. Such is the influence of the Herods. They are Jews 
in faith, but Romans in their manner of life. Children of Esau, 
they are our brethren, and have all the cunning of the desert in 
their brain. They will make Judaea the great kingdom of the 
East, with Rome for its friend and the law of God for its soul. 
We surrender the outward aspect of independence, and keep the 
reality. Thus the Herods will fulfil the prophecies, and be the 
anointed of God to make the Lord's house above all others, and 
Jerusalem again the queen of the nations." 



JUDAS OF KARIOTII AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 243 

You will say that these men blaspheme. They do, but we 
can use them for our purpose. They are lovers of the world, 
and know nothing of the power of God. Meantime, I flatter 
Herod with the hope of being the Great Anointed, and I lead him 
as I choose. 

But I do not so well understand this prophet of Galilee. I try 
in vain, thus far, to see his plan. He is creating a mighty move- 
ment ; but, while he rouses, he also restrains. He belongs to no 
school, unless to that of the Baptizer, whose disciples he has in- 
herited, at least many of them. In some respects he is like the 
Herodians; for he makes light of the law, of the sabbath, and 
the most sacred traditions. But he keeps aloof from Antipas, 
— who would be glad to know him, — and, as far as I can learn, 
has never put his foot into Tiberias, though his present home is 
Kaphar-nahum, only the distance of a sabbath-day's journey. He 
opposes us, the Pharisees, constantly ; but he is no friend to the 
Sadducees, the priests, rulers, or lawyers. He is evidently build- 
ing up a party of his own, and I have no doubt he intends to 
appear as the Messiah. I will now tell you what measures I have 
taken to prevent his success. 

Finding that this Jesus of Nazareth (or Nazirah) was very care- 
less in his neglect of the sabbath, of ablutions, of fastings and 
prayers ; that he mingles freely with the worst classes, sups with 
publicans, and openly mocks at the sacred distinctions of the law 
and tradition concerning clean and unclean meats, — I saw that the 
surest plan to take away his credit with the people was to repre- 
sent this conduct as coming out of self-indulgence, and the absence 
of all religion. You know that self-denial as regards pleasure is 
so hard to the common people, that they revere most of all the 
man who fasts. Not to eat and drink, to wear poor clothes or 
none, to live alone among the rocks, — all this, they think, requires 
more than human power, and shows that God is with the man 
who leads so hard a life. The Nazarene prophet has unwisely 
neglected this, and thus offers us the handle of the sword with 
which to smite him. I have carefully instructed some of the zeal- 
ous men of our party who are here, to question him publicly on 
these points. They are told to follow him, and watch him on all 
occasions, and take the opportunity of putting such questions to 
him as will make him appear in a bad light to. the people. 



244 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

The two young men whom I have chosen to this work are very- 
zealous for the law and for our society : they are also adroit, and 
not easily put to silence. They are Onias and Menahem. 

Their first opportunity came in this way. It was the time of 
the fasting of the fifth month, for the destruction of the temple 
by Nebuchadnezzar, in which fast this prophet and his disciples 
took no part. Therefore, wheii many were present, and the propliet 
had finished speaking, Onias asked him why he and his disciples 
did not fast, when the disciples of John and the Pharisees fasted, 
and denied themselves, out of reverence for the temple of God. 

He answered, and said, " Do men fast for sorrow, or for joy, 
Onias? And is not fasting the outward sign of an inward 
grief ? " 

" Certainly, master," said Onias, "they fast for sorrow; and 
fasting is a sign of grief." 

" Then should men fast at a wedding, or not rather at a fune- 
ral?" 

" At a funeral, indeed, and not at a wedding. If they should 
fast at a wedding, it would be discourteous to the bridegroom." 

'•But my disciples, Onias, are now at such a wedding. Joy is 
in their hearts, because they see that mercy and truth have met 
together, that righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 
While I am with them, their hearts are joyful, being full of the 
love of God. If they were to fast now, they would be telling a 
falsehood to God and man. Alas ! the tviiQ will come when they 
will not be at a wedding, but at a funeral; and then they will fast, 
not as a ceremony, but because grief will take away all desire for 
food." 

Thus he replied to Onias. But then Menahem spoke, and said, 
" Tell me, master, may I, also, ask something ? " And, when the 
prophet assented, he said, — 

"I heard thee say in thy speech from the mountain, that, when 
we fast, we must fast inwardly, washing the face instead of cover- 
ing it with dust, and that we must not appear to men to fast. 
And thou didst also tell us that we must let our light shine before 
men, that others, seeing our good works, may glorify God. Now, 
if fasting, giving of alms, and prayer, be good works, why didst 
thou tell us to do them in secret ? " 

The master, not seeming disturbed by this question (which I 



JUDAS OF KARIOTH AND THE LETTERS OF BEN-GAMLAH. 245 

had written down on tablets, and given to Menahem), answered, 
*' I said that we must not fast, nor pray, nor give alms, to be seen 
of men, but of God, who knows what in them is good. When we 
display our good acts that men may praise them, we are not letting 
our light shine, but rather showing our darkness. There is a 
time to speak, and a time to be silent ; a time to do good privately, 
and a time to make it manifest." 

From this thou mayst know how ready he is with an answer, 
and how difficult it is to entrap him in his speech. 

He also added these words, which I send to thee, that thou 
mayst see that he proposes to make some new religion with new 
customs of worship : " No man putteth new wine into old bottles 
of skin, dry and hard; for the wine, fermenting, will split these 
old skins, and the wine be lost: but men put new wine into new 
skins, which give way, and stretch, and so do not burst. Neither 
can new truth be put into an old ritual, nor a new religion into old 
ceremonies ; but every new truth must have a language of its own 
in which it can be spoken." 

From these words I see that he intends to destroy our holy sys- 
tem of worship, and the customs which have come to us from our 
fathers. Is he not, then, a very dangerous man ? He carries his 
blasphemy so far as to compare our monthly fasts and our hours 
of prayer to dry and hard skins, ready to crack, and fall to pieces. 

But this is by no means the worst ; for he not only attacks our 
holy traditions, but the law of Moses itself. There is a question, 
you know, about divorce, much discussed in our schools, and con- 
cerning which, as usual, Hillel and Schammai differ. What con- 
duct in a wife shall authorize the husband to give her a "get," or 
bill of divorce ? Hillel says, " He may do so, even if she has 
spoiled his food." But Schammai says, "Only for unchastity." 
Now, I had heard that this man, in his speech on the mountain, had 
told the people that no man must put away his wife, except for 
infidelity ; though the law of Moses taught, that, if a wife ceased 
to find favor in her husband's eyes, he might give her a "get." 
I therefore told my agents to question him on this pointy and 
make him oppose Moses and the law in the presence of the people. 
They took the occasion, a day or two later, to ask him if a man 
might divorce his wife for any cause. "Not so," he answered; 
"for God hath joined them together, and, if they are truly joined 



246 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

by God, they are and must remain one." Prompted by me, Onias 
cried out, " Dost thou, then, contradict Moses, and art thou wiser 
than he? for he says, that, if a man findeth any thing unpleasant 
in his wife, he may divorce her." And, taking the roll of the 
second law, he read the passage aloud, and explained its sense to 
the people, and then looked to see what Jesus would reply. But 
he, without embarrassment, said, " Moses gave the people such 
laws as they could bear, and he acted wisely. But the law of 
God, which was in the beginning, when man was made, is higher 
than the law of Moses. This law is written in the heart, and 
teacheth that two who love each other should bear wdth each other's 
sins, and forgive, and cleave together always." Thus, once more, 
he escaped from our argument, appealing from Moses to the God 
of Moses ; and he spoke so powerfully and so tenderly, that Onias 
and Menahem were silenced. You see from this that he even sets 
aside our most holy law, and puts above it some higher law of 
nature. 

The power of this man is very great. When he speaks, it is 
impossible to resist him : even I, who, as thou knowest, am not 
easily moved, have sometimes found myself forgetting my enmity, 
and conquered by the might that is in his words. But this weak- 
ness soon passeth away. The wonderful persuasion of his speech 
makes him more dangerous : if we could bring him to our side, 
indeed ! But all that he says shows this to be impossible. He 
doth not often speak of our society with bitterness or anger, but 
sadly, as if we were the worst enemies of God. There is no pros- 
pect of his coming to us : so he must be crushed, else he will crush 
us. We must fight him with every weapon. We need all our 
power, and must be ready to use it at any moment. In short, he 
must die, if all our hopes for our people are not to be wrecked. 
Explain this to Kaiaphas, and let him be ready to act firmly when 
the time shall come. In the mean time I will watch the man's 
movements : so shalt thou know whatever may take place. 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 247 



CHAPTER XIV. 

LETTERS BETWEEN THE RABBI BEN-GAMLAH AT TIBERIAS AND 
THE RABBI ISHMAEL AT JERUSALEM. 



LETTER II. 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 



I WILL now tell you more concerning this prophet of Galilee. 
My feelings toward him are strange : they are made up of hatred, 
fear, and admiration. I hate him for his terrible words against 
our holy society, and his evident purpose to destroy the most 
sacred institutions of our people. He speaks against the sab- 
bath, the temple, the priests, the customs of the law. I fear 
his power over the people, which grows every day, and is already 
very dangerous. And yet, when I see him and listen to him, I 
am like the man who wishes to swim against a current, and is 
borne along by its power in the contrary direction. His face is 
like that of ai\ angel, in majesty joined with sweetness. His 
words thrill through the heart like tender music. 

Be not afraid, Ishmael. Such feelings will have no power over 
my actions. This man must die, — either his death, or else the 
destruction of our nation, with all its hopes. If he succeeds, we 
shall have a king who regards neither temple, sacrifices, sabbaths, 
nor the sacred law ; to whom circumcision is "nothing ; who cares 
as much for the Gentile and Samaritan as for the Jew, as much 
for the publican as the priest. I said he was like an angel ; but, 
if he were the archangel Michael himself, I should say, " Let 
him be destroyed." 

But it will be very difficult to win the victory. He is as cau- 
tious as he is bold. Though most of his followers believe in him 
as the King who is to come, he has not yet claimed the title. He 
even forbids his disciples and messengers to call him so. Thus 



248 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

•we have no excuse for seizing him, and Herod will not venture to 
do it ^^•ithout a reason. Unfortunately, Herod and the Roman 
governor are on bad terms ; and Antipas fears to do any thing 
which might create a disturbance in Galilee, and thus allow Pilate 
to interfere. 

There was a time when I thought we should be able to get 
him in our power. The people in this region had become very 
much roused b}- strange cures he has performed on the sick, by 
some magic or charm ; for he seems to know many of the secrets 
of nature, and the spells which control demons. So they fol- 
lowed him in crowds. But he is so careful, that, when he per- 
ceives the people too much roused in one place, he goes elsewhere, 
that their feelings may grow calm. So he crossed the lake in a 
boat to the eastern shore, knowing that they could not follow him 
across the water. But I sent my agents to advise the people to 
follow by land round the head of the lake, and not to let him 
escape, but compel him to become their king. " He must be 
made to do this : he never will do it himself. He expects you to 
insist on it. He will seem unwilling at first, but will consent at 
last; and then the whole nation will follow and rise, and the 
Romans will be driven out. Thus Mdll the people of the lake be 
called the Deliverers of the Land." So my messengers spake, 
going diligently among the crowd, w^hich moved on around the 
shore, and at last, after many hours, came to the place where he 
was, on the side of a mountain. But they were tired and hungry, 
and he ordered food to be given them. And, when their strength 
returned, they said, " Now is the time. Let us take him, and 
carry him in triumph to Tiberias." Then some of my agents 
took a boat, and came hastily to tell me. I thought, " Surely our 
time has come." I warned Herod, and he collected his soldiers, 
putting them in the houses on each side the street by which the 
people would enter the city. We watched all the night and the 
next day; but they did not come. So I sent forth spies, and 
learned that Jesus had somehow discovered the purpose of the 
multitude, and had departed alone into a mountain, so that they 
could not find him. 

Once more, then, I changed my plans, and sought to diminish 
his credit with the people by cunningly devised questions. In 
every walled city there is some part weaker than the rest, and 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 249 

this a good imperator selects for the attack. One weak point in 
this prophet's defence is his treatment of the sabbath. You 
know our people. Some may, among idolaters, worship idols ; 
they may break nine of the Commandments, — they may covet, 
or bear false witness : but one Commandment they will not 
violate. They will die rather than not keep the sabbath. A 
sabbath-breaker is as bad in the sight of the people as a thief, 
and worse than a liar. But Jesus is quite public in his neglect 
of the sabbath, and this seemed to me the weak part of his wall 
of defence. If he could be made to speak publicly against the 
sabbath, perhaps, so variable is the people's love and hate, they 
might, in their anger, save us the trouble and danger of putting 
him to death. 

I thought this so important a matter, that I determined to con- 
duct it myself. I mingled with the crowd often. One sabbath 
he walked with his disciples along the lake shore, and passed up 
into the fields of wheat, which were then becoming ripe. And 
when I noticed some of his discipleg pulling the heads of wheav., 
and chewing them, I said, " Master, observe and see : thy disciples 
do that which is not lawful. To pluck wheat on the sabbath is 
one of the thirty-nine fathers of work which are forbidden, for 
it is the same as reaping." 

But he turned and looked at me, and, calling me by name, 
said, " Ben-Gamlah, beware, lest thou thyself commit the greater 
sin, in that thou dost condemn the guiltless. Hast thou not 
read how David ate the shew-bread in the temple, which the 
law forbids any but the priests to eat, because he was an hun- 
gred, and the priests themselves gave it to him? Bread is 
sacred, the temple is sacred, the sabbath is sacred ; but man is 
more sacred. All these are for him : he is not for them. The 
Son of man is master of them all." 

Is it not strange, Ishmael ? He had said just what I might 
have wished him to say, putting himself above the plain com- 
mands of God, annulling the Fourth Commandment, as if it were 
not to command man, but to obey him. And yet his words 
seemed so just and wise, that I could not reply until the time had 
passed away. 

But I reproached myself for this weakness, and determined 
not to yield in this manner again. Once more I went into the 



250 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

synagogue of Kaphar-nahum on another sabbath, Tvhen Jesus 
taught many things concerning the kingdom of God, saying that 
God's love would then be in every heart, making it easy to obey 
the law, and that our steps would be guided by this heavenly 
love, as a man walking in the night has the way before him 
lighted by a lantern. And Onias, who was with me, said to me 
privately, that there was a man outside with a withered hand. 
I told him to bring him in. When he came in, I took the man, 
and showed him to Jesus, and said, '* Is it lawful, master, to heal 
on the sabbath ? " 

He turned, and looked me in the face, and I trembled at the 
flash of wrath which shot from his eye, penetrating into my soul. 
" Stand up, come near," he said. And the man came slowly to- 
ward him. " Thou hast asked me a question, Ben-Gamlah," said 
he. "I will ask thee another. When thou hast answered mine, 
thou wilt also have answered thine own. Is it lawful on the 
sabbath to do good? Is it lawful on the sabbath to save life? 
Or must we let men, the children of God, suffer and die on the 
sabbath, rather than heal them? " 

But I could not answer. I would not say it was right to heal : 
I could not say that it was wrong, with that eye fixed on me. All 
were silent around me. I looked on the ground. I felt his eye 
reading my soul. Oh, how long those moments seemed ! That 
silence was like the stillness of death around me. 

At last he spoke again. And now there was no anger in his 
tone, but sadness and pity, which was harder to bear. " O men 
of hard hearts ! " said he, " which of you, if a sheep belonging 
to you falls into a pit, would not pull him out on the sabbath ? " 
I tried to say, " I would not; " but the words stuck in my throat. 
Then a murmur of derision arose around me, and I knew it was 
because I made no answer. The voice spoke again (for with 
shame and rage I kept my eyes on the ground), and now it was 
clear, and full of authority. " A man is better than a sheep. 
Stretch out thy hand." A wild cry rose from the multitude, and 
a great movement came. I looked up, and saw the man holding 
up his hand ; and all men saw that it was well, like the other. 

As I went out, some of my friends belonging to our holy society 
met me, and said, " This must not go on thus. He has no right 
to lead the people to despise their teachers and the holy men of 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 251 

the land. Let us meet, and consider what we can do to stop his 
evil influence." 

We came together and consulted. We agreed that his power 
with the people .was constantly increasing, and that, whenever he 
chose to declare himself "The Coming One," the whole country- 
would rise to support him. By good fortune he had gained no 
such influence in the southern part of the land; so that, if we 
could in any way weaken his hold on the people in Galilee, his 
plans would be defeated. Thus we sought out the weak points, 
that we might attack them. 

People are usually more displeased with a man who rejects their 
outward customs than with him who denies their inward convic- 
tions. Our nation holds fast to the sabbath, clean and unclean 
meats, circumcision, washings. The prophet rejects all these, and 
we hoped that this would bring him to ruin. We have publicly 
questioned him on all these points ; but he has been so skilful in 
his answers, that we have hardly injured him in any thing. 

We have also tried to diminish his influence gained by cures of 
the sick, by saying that it was done by diabolic power. But here, 
once more, he met us by asking whether the Devil sent evil to 
men, or good. Was it likely that he would make men sick, and 
then cure them? And since our society and priesthood also prac- 
tised curing disease, and casting out demons, how could one know 
which was done by devilish power, and which by the power of 
God ? And, since the demons of disease have always been thought 
the servants of Satan, he asked whether Satan would drive away 
his own servants while working for him, in order to enjoy the 
pleasure of doing good. In fact, he made our accusation appear 
so laughable, that we were glad to say no more about it. 

But we found that one weapon of attack was still left to us. 
By carefully watching his words and actions we have learned that 
he disapproves of one of the strongest feelings in the heart of our 
people, — its national pride. This has enabled us to bear many 
great sorrows. The Gentiles may trample upon us, but we can 
despise them as a lower race. A wild beast may be too strong for 
a man, but he is a beast still. We console ourselves in our con- 
quered state by our contempt for the conqueror, but this feeling 
the new prophet does not approve. He goes further than the 
Herodians in this; for he treats as equals and friends, not only 



252 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

Roman soldiers, but also apostate Jews who serve the Romans as 
tax-gatherers, and those basest of all men, the Samaritans. He 
seems to care as much for them as for his own people. He in- 
sulted our holy society, a few days since, by one of his stories 
made to please the ignorant. He told of a Pharisee and a pub- 
lican going to the temple to pray. He described the Pharisee as 
thanking God for being better than the publican. And why not? 
Was he not better? Then he made his publican appear very 
humble, confessing his sins. And why not? Was he not a sinner? 
All publicans are sinners. Their business causes them to break 
the law daily. He finished the story by saying that Yahveh had 
justified the sinful publican because of his humility, and con- 
demned the Pharisee for thinking himself righteous, and despising 
others. The effect of such a story is to cause the common people 
to do the very thing he blamed : it will lead them to despise the 
Pharisees. Pie thus insults and injures a whole class because of 
the faults of some of its number. You and I know that there are 
bad men and hypocrites among us ; but what body of men can be 
found, as a whole, more full of zeal for God and the law than we? 
Yet he publicly calls our whole body " hypocrites." So he bears 
false witness against his neighbor, and bieaks the law of God. 
And thus, too, he teaches the people disrespect and irreverence 
toward their religious guides. 

Another day he told another story, w^hich pleased the people 
greatly, the purport of which was to show how much better an 
infidel of Samaria was than a Jewish priest and Levite. It was 
about a Jew who w^as robbed and wounded between Jerusalem 
and Jericho, and left to die alone among the burning rocks of 
that steep defile. At first a priest came by, and, through selfish 
fear, went on, and left him. Then a Levite came, and looked at 
him, and, seeing that he was no friend of his, also went on his 
way. At last an infidel of Samaria came, and, although he was 
on a journey, stopped, and bandaged the man's wounds, and lifted 
him upon his ass, and, holding him there, walked by the side until 
they came to an inn in the city of Jericho. There he staid and 
tended him all night; and, on the following morning, this holy 
idolater gave money to the host to pay for the stranger's support 
until he liimself returned. Now, this foolish story about an im- 
possible Samaritan was evidently told to make the people believe 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 253 

that all the people of Samaria are tender-hearted, and that the 
priests and Levites are hard-hearted; and in this, again, he bore 
false witness against his brethren in behalf of their worst enemies. 

I know that this was so ; for I heard of it from our friend Eldad, 
the learned teacher of the law. Eldad told me that he asked the 
Nazarene what he must do to inherit eternal life. He asked this, 
he said, to test his knowledge of the law, and to find out whether 
his answer would touch only outside commands, or go further, 
into the central truths of Moses. But the prophet replied only by 
asking Eldad for his own opinion. Eldad forgot for a moment 
that he had asked the question in the character of one seeking 
information and perplexed in his own mind, and answered, " We 
must love God and our neighbor." — "Thou hast spoken truly," 
said the adroit prophet. " Thou knowest what thou oughtest to 
do: do it, and live." Eldad was confused, but not defeated, and 
intimated that the difficulty was to know who is our neighbor. 
*' How far must I go," said he, " in calling a man my neighbor ? 
If I live in Judaea, must I call a Galilean my neighbor, and love 
him as myself? If I am a Pharisee, is a Sadducee my neighbor? " 

Then, in reply, the prophet told the story ; and, when he had 
finished, turned to Eldad, and said, "Tell me: which of these 
three was neighbor to the wounded Israelite ? " And Eldad, who 
could not confess that a Samaritan was the neighbor (for, as he 
told me, that word was more than he could utter), was yet com- 
pelled by the ingenuity of this story to admit that the merciful 
man became, for the time at least, the true, neighbor of the 
suiferer. 

Thus the prophet endeavors to break down all barriers, and to 
confound things which are different, confusing right and wrong. 
He teaches the people that a sinful publican and an infidel of 
Samaria are as good as, yea, better than, the holiest men of the 
land. But there is another weak point, where the belief of all 
our people is against him : so we determined to attack him here. 

In Kaphar-nahura, where he now chiefly makes his abode, there 
is a mixed race, and it pleases them to have all distinctions thus 
confounded; but in Nazareth, his former home among the hills, 
the people are true Israelites, proud of being the chiklren of 
Abraham. Knowing that he would be likely to go to this place 
M'here he was brought up, we sent our emissaries there to tell the 



254 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

people that he ought to do great signs and wonders among them. 
They said, also, that a rumor prevailed, though it was no doubt 
false, that the prophet meant to desert his own nation, give up the 
law of Moses, and become a friend and helper of the Romans. 
AVe told them how he continually broke the sabbath, ate unclean 
meats, lived with publicans, praised the people of Samaria. Thus 
we stirred up the hearts of the people against him. 

At last he came, with his few followers, to Nazareth, visiting 
his mother and brethren, and on the sabbath he M'ent into the 
synagogue, where a great crowd had assembled. In these country 
synagogues, where teachers of the law are few, all are invited to 
speak. Thus Jesus was asked to read, and to expound the law. 
He said to the attendant, "Bring the roll of Isaiah." When it 
was brought, he selected the passage which reads thus : " The 
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed 
me to preach the good news to the meek, to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the 
prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the season of mercy 
from the Lord." Then he had the boldness to tell them that this 
scripture was fulfilled in their presence on that day ; that God had 
given to him power to comfort the sorrowing, to give pardon to 
the sinner, and to set those free who were bound by the chains of 
evil. " Come to me," he said, " all you who mourn, and I will give 
you rest and j^eace. I will bring you to God, so that you shall 
feel his love, and rejoice in it always." Many other words he said ; 
and the people, easily moved, began to wonder, and say, "How 
good is this! how blessed are his words ! " But others, who had 
been taught by my messengers, and were full of distrust, cried 
out, "He pretends to be a prophet. But who is he? — a man no 
better than ourselves, the son of a carpenter. His family are poor 
people, living among us. What right has he to pretend to be 
wiser and better than his neighbors ? We want no such prophet 
as this. The great Prophet, when he comes, will be no mere man 
like this Jesus, but will come in clouds and lightning, and shake 
the earth." And others said, "If thou art a prophet, show us a 
sign. Thou canst do wonderful things at Kaphar-nahum, for 
publicans and Romans, for the soldiers of Herod, and for idola- 
ters. Work some wonders here, for us who are the children of 
Abraham." And, after they had cried out thus, they waited for his 



FROM BEN-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 255 

answer. But he stood calm in their midst, and, when they were 
silent, spake thus : " You ask me to do wonders for you, because 
you are the children of Abraham ; but perhaps there are idolaters 
among the Gentiles who are nearer to God than you, and have a 
better right to his help. You exalt yourselves, and must be 
abased : they humble themselves, and shall be exalted. There 
were many widows starving in Israel during the great famine, in 
the days of El-jah; and God sent him to none of them, but only to 
a widow from among the idolaters and Gentiles, — a Phoenician 
woman living near Sidon. And Elisha, also, did not cure of their 
leprosy the children of Abraham who were lepers ; but God sent 
him to cure a Syrian leper, an idolater. Truly I say to you that 
the publicans and harlots shall enter into the kingdom of God 
before you. And many shall come from the east and the west, 
and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom 
of God, while the children of Israel shall be cast out." And, 
when he spoke thus, the people were full of wrath, and cried out, 
"This fellow blasphemes our holy nation: he is a follower of 
Herod, and has been bought by the Romans. It is not fit that he 
should live." And then our friends saw that their time had come, 
and they shouted, "Kill him ! Carry him to the Rock of Execu- 
tion, where murderers are punished, and throw him headlong." 
Thus they seized him, and were about to pull him from the syna- 
gogue by force. But he looked on them with a great calmness 
and said, "I will go out with you. Profane not this sacred place 
with the blood of the innocent." And he went forth, looking 
around him ; and, strange to say, wherever his eye fell, they 
shrank back from the mighty force which was in his presence. 
So he walked toward the rock, and an awful silence came over the 
crowd, struck with amazement at they knew not what. Their 
passion sank. Some dropped away, and others turned and de- 
parted. And still, as the prophet walked forward, the people 
became ashamed, and left him : so, before he reached the rock, 
there were only a few with him beside his disciples. Thus no 
man laid hands on him, and he departed. 

When I heard of this, I was filled with indignation at the 
people who were so foolish. I called the counsellors of our so- 
ciety together once more to deliberate; and we spake thus: "All 
men believe, that, before the coming of the King, El-jah shall 



256 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

appear. They also believe that mighty signs and wonders will 
be manifested at his coming; and, again, that he is to be the 
descendant of David. We must show the people boldly that none 
of these proofs of the true Messiah are found in Jesus. He is not 
the son of David ; he refuses to do any mighty signs, but only 
cures a few sick people; there has been no El-jah to prepare his 
way. Let us, then, call on him to explain before the people the 
absence of these necessary proofs of his being the One who is to 
come. That will, perhaps, open their eyes." 

I determined this time to conduct the matter myself. He will 
not easily terrify me by the power in his voice and his eye, for I 
verily know that I ought to oppose him and to hinder him. All 
I do is done for the sake of oar holy religion, which he will bring 
to shame, and of our sacred nation, which he will ruin. I know 
that I have no hatred against the prophet himself; but, if he 
compels me to choose between his death and that of the nation, it 
is better that any one man should die, and not the whole nation 
perish. I will tell thee the result when I write again. 



LETTER HL 

BEX-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 

This prophet is a powerful and dangerous person. There is 
a spirit in him which is hard to resist, and a wisdom which rises 
superior to all argument. His answers are such as no one can 
foresee, and are so unexpected that we know not what to reply. 

I went with two or three friends to Kaphar-nahum this morn- 
ing, well prepared, as I thought, for the battle. When we entered 
the town we inquired for the prophet, and were told he was teach- 
ing in a grove near by. We went up by a little footpath to the 
place. He sat on the grass, with his disciples around him. Be- 
hind him were some women, among whom I saw the face of 
Miriam of Migdol. We came near; and I said, " Master, may we 
say something ? " And he answered, " Say on." 

Then I spake: "Master, we are waiting, — we M'ho belong to 
the Society of the Separate Ones, — we are waiting, with all Israel, 
in hope of the great Coming. We are ready to accept for our 



EEK-GAMLAH TO ISHMAEL. 257 

King "him in ^"hom all the signs are joined. Xow we find in the 
prophets marks of the Anointed One. El-jah is to go before him ; 
for thus says the prophet Malachi, whose memory is blessed for- 
ever. He, the messenger of Yahveh, who sealed the Book of the 
Prophets, says, 'Behold, I will send you Elias the prophet, before 
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. He shall 
turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and of the children 
to the fathers, lest I come to smite the earth with a curse.' This 
is one sign of the Coming. When El-jah comes, we shall know 
that the times draw near." 

Then he looked up, and said, "Ben-Gamlah, which is the true 
El-jah, — he who is El-jah outwardly, in body; or he who is in- 
wardly El-jah, in spirit and power? " And I answered, " The 
spirit of the prophet makes the prophet." 

And he spoke again, and said, " Then El-jah has come ; for the 
Baptizer, whom you helped to kill, came in the spirit and power 
of El-jah. As the one defied Ahab and Jezebel, and told them 
of their sins, so the other defied Herod and Herodias, and told 
them of their sins. El-jah has come, and you have treated him 
as you would." 

Then fear came over me; for I saw the anger of the people 
rising against me, because I had taken part in the putting-to- 
death of the Baptizer : and my mouth was parched, and I dared 
not speak again. But he himself encouraged me, saying, " What 
else, Ben-Gamlah, would you ask? " 

Glad to speak of something which would lead the thoughts of 
the people away from the memory of Johann, I continued, — 

" Another sign, O master, of the Anointed One, is that he shall 
be the son of David ; for it is written that ' there shall come forth 
a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his 
roots.' Is it not necessary, then, that the Anointed One shall be 
of the house of David?" 

He said, "But David himself has spoken of the Anointed One. 
Have ye not read how David, when speaking as a prophet, calls 
him his master, saying, * Yahveh said to my master. Sit thou on 
my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool ' ? If he 
were the son of David, would David call him his master? Perhaps 
he is to be the son of David by having power over men, like that 
of David, but to reign over them in righteousness. Then David 
inight say to him, 'My master.' " 



258 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I then thought of my other weapon; and I said, " Master, thou 
thinkest that we men of the Separate Society are thine enemies, 
and thou hast called us hypocrites before the people. But we 
are willing to be thy followers, if thou wilt give us a sign from 
heaven, such as Zachariah spoke of, when he said that in the 
day of the Lord, the Lord would stand on the Mount of Olives, 
and cleave the mountain in twain, and half of it would go east, 
and half west, and leave a great valley between. Give us such a 
sign, master, and we. will all become thy disciples." 

But he answered, " Is not love a sign, and comfort to the sor- 
rowful, and good news to the poor, and pardon to the sinner, and 
peace to broken hearts? Are not these mightier signs that God is 
near, than a mountain rent in twain ? You wish for a Christ who 
shall come with such power that all his enemies shall tremble and 
submit, then you will find it easy to believe. But my disciples 
will believe in me, though they see no sign of victory, but only 
one of defeat. My sign shall be like the sign of Jonah, who 
disappeared, conquered by his foes, and cast into the sea. Those 
who will still believe in me then may be trusted ; but those who 
only believe because all other men obey and submit do not believe 
at all." 

Then the people who stood around rejoiced at his words, and 
justified him; and we, seeing that we could not prevail, came 
away. 



LETTER IV. 

ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 

The letters sent by the young man Reuben have come to me; 
and I thank thee, brother, on behalf of the Separate Ones, for the 
diligence thou hast bestowed on this work. Thou sayest that the 
prophet of Galilee is wise and dangerous. We think that he is 
very dangerous. He has been at Jerusalem at the feasts, and we 
have watched him carefully, and talked with him ; and our council 
is prepared to take him speedily out of the way. Yet I, also, have 
felt the power of his presence and speech, and would willingly 
have him for a friend rather than a foe, would he ally himself 
with us. But since he chooses to oppose us, and that bitterly, and 
before the people, his blood be on his own head. 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 259 

Whenever he appears in the temple, he is surrounded by great 
crowds, who collect to hear him speak and teach. Some go 
because what he says is new, and different from the teaching of 
our scribes. He speaks to the people in their own language, 
which they can easily understand. He tells many stories, and 
uses pithy sayings, which are like nails driven well in, to hold his 
teachings in the memory. He speaks against the rich, and that 
always pleases the poor. He upbraids the learned, and this gives 
delight to the ignorant. He even openly thanked the Lord, a few 
days ago, because God had hidden his truth from the wise and 
prudent, and had revealed it to babes. He also promises comfort 
and help to all who are in any trouble, and you know well how 
glad people in misery are to snatch at any prospect of relief. Let 
us be just, also, and admit that many of his sayings are full of 
deep truth and wisdom. Whence can he have learned this wis- 
dom? He often moves us all to the bottom of the soul, and his 
words penetrate to the dividing asunder of the joints of the mind. 
While he speaks, the people sometimes dissolve in tears, as he 
describes the goodness of the Lord to all his children; and some- 
times he moves his hearers to anger, when he speaks of the way 
in which some of our rich and powerful people oppress the poor. 
Thou knowest, Ben-Gamlah, that I have often privately spoken to 
thee of this evil, which brings much reproach on our holy society. 
There are among us, I know, rich men who are very covetous. 
But it is not well to speak openly of this, for whatever is a scan- 
dal to religion ought to be covered up. 

When the great Feast of Tents drew near, the minds of men 
were agitated to know whether the prophet of Galilee would come 
to it. It was well understood that the council had passed a reso- 
lution to have him seized, and put to death, if he renewed his 
attacks on the rulers ; and justly, for no government can stand 
which allows itself to be attacked in its own neighborhood and 
its own palace by a son of violence. He was to be condemned 
and punished as a sabbath -breaker, however. The items of the 
charge, to which we have witnesses, are : 1. That Jesus of Naz- 
areth, calling himself a prophet, has unlawfully and unnecessarily 
given medical aid to an impotent man on the sabbath (this hap- 
pened in the month Thammuz, at the feast for the condemnation 
of the evil book of the Sadducees) ; 2. That on the same day, 



260 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

being the sabbath, he had advised and commanded this man to 
carry his mat, so breaking the sabbath a second time; 3. That at 
the same time and place he had said that he had a right to break 
the sabbath by working, because Yahveh, who was his father, also 
worked on the sabbath. — Men asked, therefore, "Will he incur 
this danger, and come? or will he stay away? " So all the city 
was moved with curiosity. Our arrangements had been made 
with care. As soon as he presented himself, he was to be ar- 
rested, and brought before the Council of Seventy, who would 
remain all day seated in their hall of meeting, in the south-east 
corner of the Court of the Men of Israel. A part of the temple 
guard was ordered to be ready to seize him, and bring him before 
us. 

This year the Feast of Tents was held with great splendor and 
joy. On the tops of the houses, in the courtyards, along the chief 
streets, were to be seen the tents, or booths, made of green trees. 
Jerusalem had become a grove, made up of palm-leaves, branches 
of olives, myrtles, and pines. Every man we met carried his 
luldb, or bunch of palm-leaves, in one hand, and oranges and 
citrons in the other. The harvests had been plenteous ; the corn 
was in the granaries; the wine and oil filled the jars in the 
cellars. The city resounded with thanksgivings, and families 
met in glad feasts. All the people flocked to the temple for the 
morning sacrifice, in their best raiment, wearing gold chains, 
bracelets, and jewels. Though I had seen it so often, I was much 
moved by this noble service, connecting us with the days when 
our fathers lived in the wilderness in booths. The trumpets 
sounded their tones of triumph. Then a priest in white robes 
was seen coming through the water-gate, bringing the vase of 
water from the Pool of Siloam. He passed through the multi- 
tudes assembled in the Court of the Men, and ascended the in- 
clined plane leading up to the altar. The water was poured into 
a silver basin on the altar, and wine into another basin ; while 
the priests chanted hallelujah, and the crowd waved their branches. 
So the great thanksgiving went on day by day. The sacrifices 
of bullocks, lambs, rams, and kids, smoked on the altar through 
the day. In the intervals of the service the multitudes walked 
through the large courts, and beneath the splendid porches, where 
the scribes were teaching or debating ; and each listened to his 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 261 

• favorite speaker. But still the prophet did not come. I watched 
for him through the day, walking from room to room, from one 
court to another ; looking for him in the great sloa hasilika of 
Herod, beneath the long colonnades of Solyma's Portico, or in 
the far-extended northern and western porches. In the evening 
I went into the Court of "Women when the lofty lamps were 
lighted, whose blaze illuminated, not only the temple, but the 
city. Here great numbers carried torches ; and during all the 
time the choirs of Levites sang and chanted, and struck their 
harps and cymbals, and sounded their trumpets on the steps of 
the court. Dancing, singing, feasting, went on everywhere ; and 
the whole city seemed to shout aloud, and clap its hands. 

After a time a report came to me that the prophet was in Jeru- 
salem or its neighborhood. But he kept himself in privacy, and 
I was, unable to learn where he was. He doubtless staid with 
the people of Galilee, who were living in their booths along the 
ridge and on the sides of the Mount of Olives. These people 
were so devoted to their prophet, that it would not have been safe 
to try to take him from their midst. It could not have been done 
without risk of much bloodshed. And, even if he w^ere in the 
temple during the day, his friends still surrounded him, and 
might have rescued him from the temple guards. 

But in the evening of the third day a sudden movement came 
over the multitude, as when the breeze sweeps over a field of corn, 
or as when a flock of birds in the air turns suddenly, flashing 
down light from a thousand wings. I knew that something had 
happened, and sent my servant Obad to ask the cause. He speed- 
ily returned, saying, " The prophet has come, and is teaching the 
people in the Court of the Gentiles, under the Porch of Solyma." 
I went at once to the place, and saw over the heads of the crowd 
the young man, standing on the base of a column, speaking. 
Gradually I pushed through the mass of hearers, and came so 
near that I could hear what he said. 

As I drew near, he was speaking of the coming kingdom of 
God, and of the Messiah, its King. I listened with care to learn 
his doctrine. The substance of it was, that the kingdom of 
heaven includes all good men, — Jews or Gentiles ; that it consists 
of the pure in heart, the humble, the meek ; that circumcision 
and uncircumcision are of no value: that the true Jew before 



262 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY^VHTS. 

God is not the outward Jew who keeps the sabbath, offers sacri- 
fices, and comes to worship in the temple ; but the man of any na- 
tion who loves God and his brother is the true Jew, and the true 
child of Abraham. When the kingdom of heaven comes, all the 
world will worship one God, the Father. All men will love and 
serve each other. The Messiah who comes will be filled with this 
truth, and will teach it to all the nations ; and the Jews will be 
to him no nearer than the Gentiles and the Samaritans. Then he 
told the people to beware of those who make a parade of their 
religion in the streets, and who do all their works to be seen of 
men. In all this he was stirring up the people against our holy 
society of the Separate Ones, and against the most wise and learned 
Sophers and scribes- 
Then he went on, and repeated many passages from the proph- 
ets, where the Lord says that he wishes for mercy, and not sacrifice, 
and that the solemn feast is iniquity when it is not attended with 
a holy life. He told them to search the Scriptures for themselves, 
and not take the explanations of the scribes, who make the word 
of God of none effect by their traditions. He gave as an example 
of this their explanation of the Commandment, '• Honor thy father 
and mother." He said that the Sophers read this Commandment, 
and ask, "Does this bind us to take care of our parents when they 
are old and ill and needy, and to provide for their wants out of 
our substance?" And they answer, "Yes, — unless we take the 
money meant for their use, and call it Corhan, i.e.. Sacred Money, 
dedicated to holy uses; then we are not bound to help them." 
"Thus," said he, "your Sophers dissolve the whole law of God, 
leaving nothing." 

"Therefore," he continued, "search the Scriptures for your- 
selves, and find what the kingdom of heaven is to be, and what 
manner of man is the Coming King." Next he repeated the say- 
ing of Moses, out of the Book of the Three Discourses of Moses : 
" ' A prophet like myself shall the Lord raise up unto you, and let 
all men hearken to his words.' But, said he, ye are not looking 
for a prophet like Moses: ye look for a king like David. Moses 
led you through the wilderness for forty years. He did not drive 
out your enemies, but ye are looking for one to drive out your 
enemies. Are ye ready to follow another prophet through another 
wilderness, into a better land of promise? Or will ye treat the 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 263 

prophet who comes, as your fathers treated Moses? When he 
came down from the mountain where he had talked with God, 
and his face shone, they were worshipping idols, and grieved him, 
so that the tables of the law fell from his hands, and were broken. 
If a prophet comes to you to-day who has been talking face to 
face with God, and whose soul is full of the light of God's love, 
will ye not say to him, as ye said to me, that he blasphemes in 
calling God his father? Yes, God is my father; but he is also 
your father. Every one who loves God is his son. Do I boast 
when I say I am his son? No ; for that means that I do nothing 
of myself, but only that which I see my Father do. Who is ' the 
Son'? Each man is 'the Son,' to whom the Father says, 'My 
child.' Each man is 'the Son,' to whom God shows his ways 
and his works. Each one is ' the Son,' to whom the Father gives 
spiritual life, so that he may give it again to his brethren. As 
soon as you are sons, you can raise dead men to life. The power 
of God dwells in you to make them new creatures. Ye wondered 
when ye saw me make a sick body well ; but, when ye are sons of 
God, ye will have the power to make sick souls well, which is a 
greater wonder. God gives such power to me that I can, when he 
wills it, raise a dead body tg life ; but he is ready to give us all a 
mightier power by which dead souls can be raised to life. Are 
ye ready to have this power? The hour cometh, and now is, when 
God will pour out this spirit of power into your hearts, making 
you all kings and priests to him. Verily I say to you, that when, 
by obedience and faith, ye become little children, ye shall see and 
utter the truth which sits in judgment on the world. No matter 
how lowly ye are, ye shall be sons of God, and all men shall 
honor you as they honor your Father. No man can help honoring 
him in whom he sees divine truth and divine love. Ye shall all 
be like Moses coming down from the mountain, your faces shining 
with glory because ye have been talking with your Father. Ye 
shall bring to men a new law, not written on tables of stone, but 
on the tablets of the heart. 

" Verily the hour cometh, and now is, when every son of God 
shall sit in judgment, and judge the world. The wise and learned 
shall come from Greece to be judged. Emperors and kings shall 
come from Rome to be judged. The truth which dwells in you 
shall judge the world, for truth is more mighty than Roman 
legions ready for war." 



264 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I give the substance of what he said, but not his words. 

AYhen the people heard him thus speak, and give the testimony 
of the prophets to the reign of peace and truth, they were greatly 
amazed, and said, " How knoweth this man the Scriptures, since 
he has never been to the schools of the Sophers? " 

As they said this, he answered them, saying, " What I say is 
not what I have sought out or found by my own power, but what 
God has said to me. I listen to his voice, and speak his words. 
Many who speak to you desire the fame of mighty orators, and 
put together sounding words; but I only try to hear what my 
Father says to me, and repeat it again. Ye were angry with me 
because I told you that the sabbath was made for man, and that 
whatever doth man good, it is right to do on the sabbath. Ye 
thought that this was teaching you to break the law of Moses. 
But, if ye bethink yourselves, ye will see that ye also break the 
sabbath by doing works of religion on that day. _ The priests in 
the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless, because they 
are obeying the law of Moses. But doth not the law also say, 
'Love your neighbor as yourself'? and I should break that law, 
if I refused to heal a man on the sabbath. God says, ' I will have 
mercy, and not sacrifice.' Ye break the sabbath by giving God 
sacrifices : / break the sabbath in giving him deeds of mercy. And, 
for giving God what he asks, ye have resolved to kill me." 

Then there arose a great murmur. And the friends of our so- 
ciety cried out, " Thou speakest like a madman : no one wishes to 
kill thee." Others cried out, "He speaks the truth. The rulers 
have passed a law to take him and kill him, but they are more 
afraid of him than he is of them. Perhaps they think he is the 
Christ, after all." Others again said, " How can he be the Christ? 
The Christ will suddenly appear, no one knows from whence. But 
this man lives in Galilee, and always has lived there. We know' 
all about him. He cannot be the Christ." 

Then the prophet (if I must call him so) spoke again, and 
said, " Yes, truly : ye know whence I came, but ye do not know 
from whom I came. I came from Him, the God of all Truth. I 
come outwardly from Galilee, but inwardly I come to you from 
God. Your rulers and teachers do not know the truth which 
would make them free. Now they tell you, that by fastings with- 
out end, and prayers repeated over and over, and a great multi- 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 265 

tude of sacrifices, your souls and theirs can be saved. They do 
not know God, and so they cannot show him to you." 

And when I heard him thus reviling the rulers of the people, 
and blaspheming the sacred rites of our holy religion, I called 
aloud on the temple guard to arrest him. When they were not 
to be found, I went to the hall of the guard, and commanded the 
officers there to go and seize him. They replied, " It is difficult 
to do so while the people are all crowding around him ; but when 
we find him alone, we will surely take him." Nor did I blame them 
very much, for the people's minds were greatly moved ; and many 
said, "He is surely the King who is to come." And you know 
well, that, when our people are in this condition, it is dangerous to 
oppose them. So we waited until the next day. 

On the next day, which was the eighth day of the feast, the 
multitudes in the courts were larger than I had ever seen them. 
On this day, again, the Nazarene appeared, surrounded by many 
followers. This time he stood in the Court of the Jews ; and when 
the water from Siloam was brought, and poured out on the altar, 
he cried' aloud to the people, that there was a better water than 
this ready for them, — a water for the soul. This heavenly water, 
he told them, would quench their thirst always. Moreover, he 
said that this water would be a living fountain within them, to 
give them eternal life. "Only believe on me," he said, "and 
you shall have this life within you. The whole nation shall be 
filled with it, and will become a fountain of spiritual life to all 
the world." This seemed innocent enough, but I saw plainly 
that it was another attack on the leaders and teachers of the peo- 
ple. It meant that they would not be necessary when each man 
had this life in himself. Such doctrines flatter the pride of com- 
mon people : they think they can be equal to their superiors. 
I knew well that the prophets had said that the time would come' 
in which the law should be written in each man's heart, and in 
every man's mind, and that it would not be necessary for any man 
to teach his neighbor and brother how to know the Lord ; for all 
should know him, from the least to the greatest. That time will 
come, but it is a great way off. The people, who are ignorant of 
the law, must be led. But I am told that this speech sank deep 
into the minds of the people. One of my own friends, who was 
there, said, that for the time, he also felt that the young man 



266 THE LEGEND OF THOJIAS, CALLED DIDYJ^IUS. 

had in him a power by which he could bring the whole world into 
the peace of God. What he said was like the speech of an angel, 
so full was it of might, united with tenderness. He spoke so 
plainly, that all could understand him. What he said went to 
every heart, for he spoke of what men know they need. I saw 
there was a strange power in his words, when so wise and calm 
a man as my friend was so disturbed. While hearing him, I also 
(shall I confess it, O Ben-Gamlah ?) have forgotten my hatred to 
this dangerous man : I have been filled with a strange feeling of 
love and joy, as though heaven were close at hand. If even I feel 
thus, no wonder that the common people are glad to hear him, 
and believe all he says. To-day, as I learn, many said he was 
the mighty prophet El-jah. Others said that he must be the 
great King who is to come. This becomes very dangerous. Our 
friends of the society who were there were alarmed when they 
heard such things said by the people. You know old Tobias? 
He is stupid, obstinate, full of self-conceit; but he was very 
useful to-day. He climbed on a stone in the court, and cried 
out in his shrill, cracked voice, " How can this man be the King 
to come? When the King comes, he will not come from Galilee: 
be je sure of that. He must come from the city of David, which 
is Bethlehem, and be a son of David." Others cried out, "The 
prophets are not at one on this point." And a great tumult of 
voices arose, and the evil was thus stopped for the time. We had 
the temple courts cleared, and the gates closed. This could be 
done, as it was the last day of the feast, and people no longer 
slept in booths in the courts ; but every man went to his own house. 
We held that night a secret session of the Great Council. 
First we sent for the captains of the temple guard, and asked 
them why they had not arrested the Nazarene teacher. They 
gave nis this strange answer: "Never man spake like this man." 
It seems that the power of his words took all their strength 
out of them, and left them helpless. Matters were becoming 
dangerous. If we could not depend on our own guard, what was 
to be done? We, therefore, gave them a severe rebuke, telling 
them that all the wise men and holy men were agreed that Jesus 
w^as no true prophet, but a deceiver. We declared to the ofl&cers 
that the Sacred Council had pronounced sentence of death on 
this Nazarene fis a false prophet, sabbath-breaker, and deceiver 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 267 

of the people ; and that the greater excommunication would be 
declared against all who supported him. The Sophers, we said, 
were now writing the bill of Maran-atha against all the disciples 
of Jesus who did not forsake him and resist him. All these 
would be cut off from the worship of the temple and the syna- 
gogues, and be declared outlaws, and forbidden to come nearer 
"than four cubits length to any Jew, or even to live with their own 
families. Having ordered the officers to communicate this to the 
guards and soldiers, and to all the officials of the temple, we dis- 
missed them. 

The doors being closed for a private session, I rose and said, — 

"Men and brothers, venerable fathers, most reverend chief 
priests, elders, and very learned Sophers, we have come together 
in an hour of peril. It is now plain that this Nazarene intends 
to be the King of Israel, and that the people are following him 
in large numbers. Those who have seen the disgraceful scenes 
in the temple to-day must agree that his course should be stopped 
at once. The safety of the whole nation is at stake. I say noth- 
ing of the constant abuse and slander which he utters against 
the holy society of the Separate Ones and the venerable rulers. 
This we can bear ; although it misleads the people, and destroys 
that reverence for superiors on which all order rests. But worse 
than this are his attacks on the holy sabbath, on the sacred dis- 
tinction of clean and unclean meats, his intimacy with publicans 
and sinners of all sorts, his habits of gluttony and wine-bibbing, 
his association with Samaritans, Phoenicians, and Komans, and 
his declaration that our temple will cease to be the place of wor- 
ship when he shall become king. For these reasons I denounce 
him as a false prophet, and demand that he shall be arrested to- 
morrow, and put to death immediately." 

As soon as I took my place, Nicodemus arose. You know that 
he is always the same, —a man of halfway measures : so he proved 
to-day. He spoke thus : — 

"If the charges brought by Rabbi Ishmael are true, and if 
there are witnesses to prove them, I agree that the Nazarene 
prophet deserves punishment ; but we all know what false rumors 
prevail against public persons. One of these accusations, at least, 
I know to be false. One of the intimate friends of the prophet 
tells me that his private life is most pure and temperate. He is 



268 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

no glutton nor wine-bibber. You say that his intimate friends 
and associates are the dregs of mankind. Not so. His disciples, 
with whom he lives, are innocent men, — honest fishermen and 
mechanics. He goes among bad people, but always to help them, 
and teach them to be better. As to the removal of national wor- 
ship from the temple, I never before heard this accusation, nor 
can I easily believe it. At all events, let us not violate the rules 
of our own law by condemning him or any man unheard. I pro- 
pose, that, before he be sentenced, he be tried, and that we have 
an opportunity of seeing him and hearing him." 

I did not like to let this speech pass unanswered, therefore I 
replied : — 

"You call this man of Galilee a prophet: does the tradition 
allow any Galilean to be a prophet? You may say that Jonah and 
El-jah were from Galilee ; but Jonah was no true prophet, for his 
prophecy against Kineveh was not fulfilled. And El-jah came 
from Gilead, which is no part of Galilee. Besides, in his time 
Galilee had not been polluted by the coming-in of the Gentiles. 
The people of Galilee are now only half-children of Israel, and a 
half -Israelite cannot be a prophet. You doubt, O Nicodemus, if 
this Xazarene has declared that the temple shall cease to be the 
place of worship : I have a witness that he said this. He stands 
without, and can be called in if the Holy Council desire it." 

Then the high priest Joseph, called Kaiaphas, commanded the 
man to be brought in, and ordered him to say what he knew of 
this matter. And Keuben (for it was he) answered, and said, — 

"Venerable fathers of the Holy Council. I was passing 
through the land of wickedness, which is Samaria ; and business 
compelled me to stop at Sychar. And there I met a woman who 
told me that she believed in the Christ of the Jews, and not 
merely in the ' Comforter' of her own people. I asked her why, 
and she said she had seen him. When I asked further, she told 
me this story : — 

" ' I went down the valley one morning, with my pitcher and 
cord, to draw water at the well of Jacob. When I came there, 
behold, a Jew, sitting alone on the wall of the well. I did not 
speak, but let down my pitcher, and drew it up again. Then he 
said, " Give me to drink." I replied, " You Jews think us only 
dogs, too contemptible to speak to or eat with. Why dost thou 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 269 

ask me for drink? Art thou not afraid that it will hurt thee? " 
So I said, mocking. He answered seriously, " Thou canst give 
me this water, but I can give thee something better than this. I 
can give thee living water from a deeper spring." But I, still 
thinking that he spoke in scorn, answered, "This well is an hun- 
dred cubits deep, and thou hast asked me to draw water for thee 
out of it : how canst thou, then, draw water for me from a deeper 
spring? AVe are Jacob's children, as well as you; and our father 
loved us, for he gave us this well which he dug for us. If thou 
canst dig one deeper, thou must think thyself greater than Ja- 
cob." Though I spoke angrily, he replied with a calm face and 
gentle voice, saying, " This water quenches the thirst for a time, 
then thou must come back to draw water again. I can give thee 
water which shall keep thy soul from all thirst, and shall flow 
into thy heart and from thy heart, always to refresh thee and 
others." I said, " I should wish to have some of that kind of 
water, so that I need not come to draw again at this well." He 
told me to go and call my husband, and come back again ; for I 
suppose he did not desire to be found talking alone with a woman, 
I told him, "I have no husband." Then he said some wonderful 
words, which showed that he knew all I had ever done. And 
I was terrified at his knowledge, and, seeing he was a prophet, 
asked him if the Jews are right who worship at Jerusalem, or we 
who worship on Mount Gerizim; for it pained me to have him 
tell me of my own life, and I thought it better to ask of other 
matters. Then he told me other wonderful things, saying that 
the hour had come when men should not worship God at Jeru- 
salem, nor on Mount Gerizim, but only in their souls, asking God 
for what they really desired, and not saying words to please him.' 
The woman insisted that this was what he said, and that he told 
her he was the very Messiah who was to come." 

Thus spoke Reuben, and gave his testimony; and I said, "Is 
not this enough ? " 

But, beside Nicodemus, there are in our council men of weak 
purpose and soft hearts, who have not the effectual fervor the 
times demand. One of these is Yochanan, a disciple of Ilillel. 
He spake thus : — 

"It is not just to condemn any man for what a witness did not 
himself see or hear; for testimony is like water in a brook, which 



270 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

becomes impure by running through many soils. If this man is 
to be punished, let it be because of something said or done here. 
He. is now in Jerusalem : let us observe him, and learn the truth." 

Then Eleazar spoke : — 

" This man is said to be the friend of sinners. He once al- 
lowed a sinful woman to anoint his feet, and told her that her sin 
was forgiven her. Now, we have in one of the prisons a woman 
who was taken in adultery : let us take her to the Nazarene, and 
ask if she shall be stoned, as the law commands. If he consents, 
he Mall be made odious to those who think that the woman, though 
guilty, became so through her husband's desertion and ill-treat- 
ment of her. If he forbids her to be punished, it will be then 
evident that he opposes the law, and sets himself above Moses." 

The council agreed to this. We shall know the result to-mor- 
row, and I will write to thee again. 



LETTER V. 

ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 

I AviLL now narrate what has occurred since I last wrote to thee. 
The attempt to entrap the Nazarene has failed, as I believed it 
would. He is as wise as a serpent. Some of our society took the 
woman to him as he was sitting, teaching the people, in one of the 
courts of the temple. The people were standing before him while 
he taught. Our friends, therefore, came behind him, and spoke, 
saying, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, — in the very 
act. Now, Moses in the law commanded us that such should be 
stoned; but what sayest thou?" When they had spoken, he 
stooped down, and wrote with his finger on the ground, as though 
he did not hear. Therefore they continued to ask him. And at 
last he raised his eyes, and said to them, *' He that is without sin 
among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Then he stooped 
down, and M^'ote on the ground again, as if the matter did not 
concern him, but us. And our friends looked at each other, and 
all the people standing opposite looked at them. When no one 
was willing to be the first, the people began to mock them. One 
after another went out, fearing the Nazarene would ask them why 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 271 

they did not begin to stone the woman. When all had gone out, 
Jesus looked up, and saw the woman standing alone, and told her 
to go away, and sin no more. And I also could not but wonder 
at the wisdom of the man, and knew that he looked on the ground 
so that they might have time to think for themselves what to do. 
If he had looked at them, they would have been ashamed to admit 
their sin, and their pride would have made them stone the woman 
with stones ; but by his prudence he both saved the life of the 
woman, and did not oppose the law. 

That evening multitudes came together into the Court of the 
Women, or treasury, where the tall lamps were lighted, and many 
other lamps were brought by the people for the close of the great 
festivity. The Levites stood on the steps, and made music, and 
the people danced and sang with much merriment. 

Then this Nazarene prophet, who goes everywhere, came with 
his followers to the women's court. There was a great blaze of 
light, which made it like day. He spoke to the people, who always 
come round him, and ask him to teach them. And truly I cannot 
blame them ; for his voice is sweet as a flute, and clear as a 
trumpet. He tells them stories full of meaning, and his talk is 
like a collection of pictures shown one by one. Sometimes his 
words make them weep, and then laugh with joy. Thus, when 
they asked him to speak, he sat down on one of the raised seats of 
the court, and the men and women came around him. 

" How full of light is this place ! " said he, "and how pleasant 
it is ! But these lights will soon go out, and all will be dark 
again. There is a light which never goes out when once kindled, 
— a light which will go with you always, and be a part of your 
life. Do ye desire to have this light? " 

Then the people said they desired it. And he continued: 
" God has sent this light, to you, O my people ! that your city may 
lighten the world. God has filled my soul full of this light, and 
I was born, and sent into the world, that the world might be full 
of it. Wherever this light shall shine, it will carry joy and peace 
to the children of men. It is the light of life. God will fill you 
full of life, and that life shall be for all the nations." 

Many words like these he said ; and the people were pleased, 
and said to each other, "Truly this is the great Messiah." Now, 
it had been determined in our society that four or five chosen ones 



272 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

should be always present whenever he taught the people, to de- 
stroy the power of his words. These cried out, and said, " Thou 
bearest witness of thyself : therefore thy testimony has no value. 
Thou sayest that thou art the light of the world. Give us some 
proof, that we may believe thee." 

The Nazarene replied to our people, saying that a man might 
bear record of himself, and yet his record be true ; for he might 
know the truth of what he said. "I know," said he, " whence I 
came, and whither I go. Ye know it not." Then he told them, 
that, when a man speaks the truth, the two witnesses required by 
the law are present : there is the power of his honesty, which is 
seen by all honest hearts ; and there is the power of the truth 
itself, which is the witness of God to all truthful souls. Those 
w^ho judge only by appearance do not perceive this testimony, and 
therefore are unjust in their judgments. Plonest hearts feel hon- 
esty when it is before them. True minds know truth when they 
see it. 

Saying these things, he spoke of the great and mysterious Yahveh 
as his Father. This is his custom, and it is wrong and dangerous. 
It makes the name of the Almighty too common, and takes away 
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. There- 
fore our friends were displeased, and rebuked him for this. They 
cried out loudly, that he blasphemed in calling God his Father, 
thus making himself equal with God. And many of our party, 
who were full of natural indignation against this Galilean peasant 
who set himself up to judge the wise men, and holy men, and men 
in authority, cried out, " He blasphemes, he blasphemes I Stone 
him to death." But many of his followers, hearing this, rushed 
forward, and stood before him to defend him, and also took up 
stones to throw at our party. Thus they stood, threatening each 
other. But the prophet stepped forward, and stood between, and, 
turning to his friends, told them to drop their stones, and then 
came toward our people, looking into their faces with a calm smile, 
and said, " I have healed your sick ; I have given sight to your 
blind ; I have comforted those of you who were in sorrow : for 
■which of these works do you wish to stone me? " And they were 
confused, and let the stones drop from their hands. But one said, 
" We do not stone thee for thy good works, but because it is blas- 
phemy for a man to make himself God." Jesus replied, "It is 



ISHMAEL TO BEN-GAMLAH. 273 

true I call God my Father : he is my Father, and your Father also, 
when you love him and trust in him. I call him Father. But how 
is that making myself equal with him? Does not the Scripture 
say that your judges are gods? Have ye not read what Yahveh 
declares, ' I said ye are gods ' ? Moses in his law calls the judges 
before whom the master brings his servant, ' the gods,' because 
the word of God is in their mouths. Do you say of me, whom 
the Father hath sanctified, and sent to you, that I blaspheme, be- 
cause I call myself his son ? If I had called myself God, being a 
man, I should only do what Moses did. But I do not call myself 
God, but Son of God. How, then, do I blaspheme ? " 

Thus he has an answer always ready, being exceedingly quick 
and subtle. 

When the people were silent, he spake again, thus : — 

"I am going away soon, to a place where ye cannot find me. 
Then, when it is too late, ye will perchance wish for me, and say, 
* Oh that he were here who can take away this burden of sin from 
our hearts ! ' But I shall have gone away, and ye cannot find me. 
If ye would not willingly close your eyes, and shut your ears, 
and harden your hearts, ye would see that I am he who has the 
power to save you from your sins. If ye knew this, peace and joy 
would come to you. But this I know, that no one can come to 
me, unless something within him, some power sent from my 
Father, draws him to me. God must prepare the way : otherwise 
my words will have no power on his heart." 

Then the people said, "This must be the very Christ." But 
those of our part called out, " What does he mean when he says 
he is going where we cannot come to him ? It would be like him 
to go to preach to the Gentiles, and the Idolaters, or to the Samar- 
itans." But some said, "No ! he is truly the Christ of the Jews." 

And he, hearing it, said, "If ye continue to live in my sayings, 
and listen to my words, ye shall be true scholars, and the truth 
will make you free, and God shall be your Father." 

And then we called out loudly, " He teaches that we are slaves. 
We are not slaves : we are Abraham's children, and never were 
slaves. Abraham is our father, and the God of Abraham is also 
our father. How canst thou, who art only a Galilean, make us 
children of God ? We are his children already." 

"Not so," said he; "for, if you were inwardly children of 



274 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DroYMUS. 

God, you would love me, because God's spirit is in me. But you 
canuot understand me : you will never understand me. I come to 
bring you God's truth and peace, to make you all full of light, 
that ye may be the teachers of mankind; but you close your 
eyes, and harden your hearts against me. Therefore, while ye 
are in this spirit, ye are not the children of God, but of the Evil 
One, the unbeliever. He hates truth ; and ye hate the truth I 
teach, because it condemns you, and commands you to leave these 
husks and shells of the law, and receive its spirit and its inmost 
life. 1 teach you the essence of the law, which would convert the 
■world to God, and fill you with such life that ye would never 
see death." 

Then we cried out at this blasphemy and folly, and said, " This 
is madness. Abraham and the prophets are dead ; and who art 
thou, to talk of not seeing death? " 

The prophet answered, " I am nothing. Unless God speaks by 
my mouth, do not hearken to me. But I know, and ye may 
also know, that I do not speak of myself. Do ye not feel in my 
words that a higher Power is sj^eaking through me ? If it is so, 
then listen to him. I will not take the honor of these sayings ; 
for they are not mine, but God's. But neither will I say that 
they are not the words of God, for that would be a lie. Ye call 
yourselves children of Abraham. Abraham looked forward to 
this day, and was glad to see it. He saw my day in his happy 
vision of w^hat was to come. He rejoiced in what I am now teach- 
ing you. Be his true children, and rejoice in it also." 

But our friends cried out, " What a falsehood is this I He is 
not fifty years old, and pretends to have seen Abraham." 

Then he said, "I said not that I had seen Abraham, but that 
Abraham had seen me. Long before Abraham was born, I was 
chosen in the counsels of God to be what I am." 

This was such blasphemy, that the people of our party were 
the more indignant, and took up stones to throw at him. But 
once more it happened — I cannot tell how — that he disappeared 
from us among his friends ; and when we searched for him he 
had left the temple, and retired with his own people to Mount 
Olivet, where the Galileans have their camp of tents, and he re- 
turned no more to Jerusalem. 

No doubt he has defeated us this time, but it will not always 



ISHMAEL TO BBN-GAMLAH. 275 

be so. When lie comes again, we shall have made our prepara- 
tions more skilfully. Our friends will be ready to be called on, 
and to help us. We shall not try to take him in the temple, for 
there is always a crowd of fierce Galileans there, ready to make 
a tumult; and the governor, Pilate, watches to take advantage 
of such disturbance, and take away our control of the temple. 
Therefore we shall seek to take him in the night, when he is out- 
side of the city, and his friends are not near him. Meantime, 
Ben-Gamlah, watch, and tell me all you see and know. Make 
Herod understand, also, how dangerous to his power is this man. 



276 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS AND LETTER OF EPINETUS. 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 

I "WILL now write in my tablets of a young man of Galilee 
named Joshua-bar- Joseph, or Jesus. He is a pure and great soul, 
full of God. I first heard of him as a thaumaturg, who could 
exercise a magical power over nature, command the winds, and 
exorcise demons. I caused inquiry to be made as to the truth of 
these reports, and found them more wonderful than I had been 
told. I therefore determined to go myself, and observe with my 
own eyes, and see if these things were so, and, if real, M'hether 
the works were done by some demonic power, or by that of God. 

As I was unable to go to Galilee, where he lives and teaches, 
I caused information to be given me if he should come to Jerusa- 
lem. I was told that he came to the feasts, not in any public 
character, but only as a private man. In Jerusalem, on these 
occasions, he hath done no wonderful works: he hath only gone to 
the temple, and there talked beneath the porches with the doctors 
of the law. He also hath given lessons to the common people, 
who crowd around him, and hear him gladly. 

One day (I think it was during the Feast of Tents), I heard 
that he was in the temple, in the Court of the Gentiles. My house 
is by the High Market, not far from the Tower. As I went down 
the way of Beth-Haccarem, and crossed the wood-market, I saw 
a crowd approaching, and in the midst a man led by two others. 
Something, I saw, was the matter with his eyes. I came up, and 
asked what it meant. They said, "This is a son of misfortune, 
who hath been blind since he was born ; but to-day he heard that 
the Prophet of Galilee was passing by, — he who doth many 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 277 

wonders ; and he called to him aloud, and said, * Heal me, 
Mighty One, Son of David ! ' (For men say he is the Son of 
David, who is to come.) The prophet turned, and came with his 
disciples to the man, and spat on the ground, and made clay of 
the spittle (according to the manner of physicians), and anointed 
his eyes, as you see them, and told him to go and wash in the 
Pool of Siloam. So now we are going with him to see what will 
be the end thereof." 

And I, wishing to see all, went with them. We passed between 
the prison and the house of Eliashib, and through the fountain- 
gate, to the pool. Into it the water was now flowing through 
stone-arched openings. We collected by the side of the water, 
on the shelves of rock around the pool. Then the man stooped 
down, and washed his eyes with hands which trembled because of 
his expectation. I stood opposite to him, on the other side of the 
well. The blind man opened his eyes, and looked. There came 
a shade over them, and then light began to come into them ; and 
he reached out his hands, crying, "What is this? What has 
happened to my eyes?" And he turned his head slowly, and 
muttered, "It changes; it moves." Then some one moved his 
hand before the blind man's eyes, to and fro, and said, " Dost 
thou see this? " And the blind man answered, " Something com- 
eth into my eyes, and goeth away again." And they tried him, 
and found that he saw. So they took him to his parents, who 
could not at first believe it to be true. But when they also had 
tried, and found that he knew when something was moved before 
his eyes, they rejoiced greatly. And all the neighbors came, and 
were mightily astonished to find the man's eyes opened. 

Then they went together, shouting and singing, and praising 
God, to find Joshua, who is called Jesus ; but he had gone away 
from the place, and could not be found. 

One of his disciples was there, and I asked him concerning the 
prophet. He answered me, saying that Jesus strictly charged 
them not to speak concerning his M'onderful actions, wishing 
nothing said of them. And he told me that the reason why Jesus 
opened the man's eyes by means of the clay was that the people 
might not see that they were opened, until Jesus had gone where 
they could not find him ; for in Jerusalem he wished to be private, 
and to do nothing to rouse the people until his hour had come. 



278 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Nevertheless, the multitude talked much of this "wonder ; for 
there was no doubt that the man had been blind from his birth, 
and it was certain that he now saw. The parents, and the man 
himself, and the neighbors, said, "It is Jesus of Nazirah (which 
is Kazareth) who has opened his eyes." 

The next day I was sent for to attend a meeting of the council, 
of which I find in my tablets this record : — 

Feast of Te>-ts, 
First Day of the Week. 

The Great Council called together on important business. 
Rabbi Simon, son of Hillel, who is the head of the council, pre- 
sided. Eabbi Simon said, "Men and brethren, this meeting is 
secret. Let the doors be closed." (The doors were then shut.) 

Kabbi Simon continued : — 

" It is MTitten in the law that the Lord will raise up a prophet 
like Moses, to teach the people, and that all the nation shall 
hearken to the voice of that prophet, and shall obey him. It is 
also written that there shall be false pro23hets, who are no prophets 
of Yahveh, and these shall be put to death. It is taught that all 
cases which are hard, and difficult to settle, shall be judged by 
the men of learning, the writers, and the wise. 

" Such a case has arisen. There is in the city to-day a man 
named Jesus, or Joshua, of Xazareth in Galilee, whom his fol- 
lowers call the * Prophet,' and the 'Worker of Wonders.' He, it 
is true, is prudent, and he doth not call himself by such names. 
But he talks every day with the people, and deceives them by his 
words. We are set in this place to watch against errors. What 
shall we do? " 

Then arose Rabbi Eliezar, and said, " This man Jesus cannot 
be of God ; for he breaketh the sabbath by healing the sick, and 
by walking in the fields. Moreover, he even derideth the sacred 
day, saying, ' It was made for man, and not man made for it.' Thus 
he maketh the sabbath a mere couA^enience, to be used, or not, as 
men may find it profitable. It is plain that the sabbath will soon 
be despised by all, if each man shall determine for himself, as he 
pleaseth, what he may do, and what is forbidden. Only yesterday 
Jesus pretended to cure a blind man, thus breaking the sabbath, 
and causing much disturbance in the streets." 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 279 

Then spoke Yochanan Ben Zakkai, a disciple of the great 
Hillel, but still a youth, and said, " Doth the tradition teach with 
certainty that to heal a sick man is to break the sabbath? Is 
not love greater than the altar? My master Hillel alloweth us to 
load the ass of a stranger who is to travel on the sabbath. And 
among the principal works which must not be done on the sab- 
bath, of which forty are enumerated, healing the sick is not men- 
tioned." 

When the young Yochanan said these words, my heart was 
greatly moved toward the youth, because of the largeness of his 
soul, and others felt in the same manner ; so that a murmur of 
approbation went round the chamber in which we sat. 

But Rabbi Ishmael, who is of the school of Shammai, answered 
quickly, and said, — 

" Such doctrines as these will destroy the holy law, and the 
word of Yahveh, by taking away the fence which shuts out the 
unbelievers. Now, this man hath broken the sabbath three times, 
and that presumptuously, by this action. He broke the law by 
healing on the sabbath in a public place ; for the elders say, ' Let 
not him that hath a pain anoint it on the sabbath with oil and 
vinegar ; but with oil he may, if it be not oil of roses.' * He that 
hath the toothache, let him not take vinegar in his mouth to cure 
it on the sabbath, unless he swallow it down.' But the clay was 
not swallowed, but was like a fomentation, which is forbidden. 
And again : he broke the holy tradition, which is the Mischna, or 
second law, by anointing the man's eyes with spittle ; for the 
Mischna says, 'It is not lawful to put spittle even on the eye- 
brows on the sabbath day.' And, moreover, he broke the law 
again in telling the man to carry the clay on his eyes to the Pool 
of Siloam ; for the law against carrying a thing in a public place 
on the sabbath doth not allow a writer to carry his pen, nor a 
tailor his needle. So that this man is no prophet, but a sinner, 
breaking the sabbath three times in one action." 

So said Ishmael, who is a man very zealous for the law, and 
much considered. And a loud murmur of many voices followed, 
showing that his words were accepted by many as good. 

Then I, wishing to find a middle way, and not to aggravate 
these opposite opinions, sought to gain time, and said, " But were 
it not better to send for the blind man, and see if this story be 



280 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

true, or not true? Many things are said and believed "without ex- 
amination, and much contention follows, and at last it is found 
that the foundation is absent on which the house was supposed to 
be built. Before we build our house, let us examine the founda- 
tion ; for every debate which doth not rest on facts is like the 
wind, which cometh from we know not whence, and goeth we 
know not whither. I, indeed, saw something of this transaction, 
since I was passing near the place ; yet I would like more assurance 
by seeing the man himself." 

This pleased the council, for all men like to see and hear what 
is strange. And the officers of the council were sent to bring the 
man before us. Thus I averted the violent dispute for the time. 

The man was brought in, and others with him, — his neighbors 
and companions, and his parents ; but these stood in the outer 
court under the columns, in -the shade of the portico, while the 
man was brought in. After he had been conjured by the proper 
formula to speak the truth, the president of the council asked 
him to tell his story ; and he narrated the event even as I had 
seen it. He declared that he had been blind from a child, but 
now was able to see the forms of things and of men ; and that 
this cure had been done' by a man called Jesus of Xazirah, in 
Galilee. The man told his story like one who declares the truth. 
His face was full of delight, and his voice rang through the hall 
with a sound as of one proclaiming the glad tidings of great joy. 
But Ishmael was offended because of the boldness of the man, 
and rose and spoke : — 

"I call on the council to declare that this man Jesus is not 
of God, since he is a sabbath-breaker. His works are delusions, 
and sent to lead us astray ; for he is a sinner, being a sabbath- 
breaker." 

Then spoke once more the noble j'outh Yochanan, and said, — 

" If I see a tree bearing ripe olives, d call it an olive-tree : I 
do not call it a thistle. This man Jesus hath well said, 'Judge 
every prophet by the fruit he bears.' A man who is a sinner doth 
the works of a sinner, not the works of a prophet." Many ap- 
plauded Yochanan, while others agreed with Ishmael. And so 
the council was once more divided, many speaking at once with 
much tumult. 

Then I rose again, and said, "Let us go to the root of the 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 281 

matter. Let us be sure that the man was born blind. His 
parents stand without. Call them in, and ask them these three 
questions: 1. ' Is this man your son? ' 2. ' Was he born blind ? ' 
3. ' How is it that he now sees? ' " 

So the parents were called in, and the questions put to them. 
They answered the first two readily, and said, "He is our son," 
and " he was born blind." But, beholding the anger of Ishmael 
and his company, they feared to answer the third question, and 
referred to the man himself, saying that they did not know how 
he had come to see. 

Then the party of Ishmael, which was the largest, compelled 
the council to decide that Jesus, being a sinner, could not have 
done this work; thus judging the fruit by the tree, and not the 
tree by the fruit. For such is always the manner of those who 
are blinded against truth by their own anger, or jealousy, or fear. 
They again called the man in, and forbade him to say that Jesus 
of Nazareth had cured him, but to say that God had given him 
his sight. 

The Man. — " Why shall I not be grateful to him who hath 
opened my eyes ? " 

Ishmael. — " Because he is a sinner, having broken the sab- 
bath." 

The Man. — <'I do not know whether he is a sinner or not. 
But I know I was blind, and I know that I see." 

At last the man, being vexed by many questions, became angry, 
and answered violently, asking whether we wished to be the dis- 
ciples of Jesus ; and finally declared that he believed that Jesus 
was a prophet, and a man of God, and that he would not be 
silent, but would tell everywhere the great good Jesus had done 
to him. So the council voted that the man should not enter any 
synagogue for a month, nor speak during that time to any one, 
not even to his own wife and child, under penalty of a greater 
punishment if he disobeyed. 

In all this matter I think Rabbi Ishmael and his party were in 
error. Surely, even according to our tradition, it is right to heal 
on the sabbath; for it is a canon, "We must take a tender care 
of the goods of an Israelite." How much more, then, of an Israel- 
ite himself! It is also declared by Rabbi Lazar, "If a beast 
or its foal fall into a ditch on a holy day, let him lift up the 



282 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

beast to kill him, lest he die in pain, or suffer much; and let 
him bring fodder for the other." If this may be done on the 
sabbath, much more may the owner of the beast be healed. I 
had in my mind to say this in the council ; but I thought it better 
not to seem too entirely on either side of the question. Thus I 
shall be like the small weight, which, when the balances hang 
even, will turn the scale this way or that. For now both parties 
in the council listen to me willingly; but, if I joined one part, the 
other would refuse to hear what I say. 

When I returned to my house, I said, " Why should I not visit 
this youth of Galilee, and converse with him? Surely one who 
doth such wonders must be helped by the Lord our God ; and he 
may be, in truth, the long-expected King of Israel." Many things 
which have been said by him have been reported to me by a 
friend, and they truly show a spirit of wisdom. He seems to be one 
to w^hom the Daughter of the Voice has spoken. His wisdom is far 
above his years. His sayings are like a javelin thrown by the 
hand of a warrior, the body of which is w^eighty, the point sharp, 
and the aim exact. Thus, when his own people at Xazirah re- 
jected him, instead of becoming angry, he consoled himself with 
a proverb, saying, " A prophet is not without honor, save in his 
own city and his father's house," showing that he hath not only 
the wisdom of God, but also the wisdom of the world. He 
often teacheth serious matters with a smiling countenance, and 
giveth wise advice about the things of this life, as well as of the 
other. Observing what we all have seen, — that the rich give 
feasts to the rich, to whom it is not a novelty, and who care little 
for it, — he advised men to give a feast to the poor and wretched, 
to whom it would be a great matter. Whereupon a solemn fool, 
with much piety, but little sense, meaning to rebuke the young 
prophet for speaking of such low matters, called out, " Blessed is 
he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." And they say 
that Jesus immediately told one of the little stories which are ex- 
cellent, and which men love to repeat, showing that, when that 
great feast shall be spread, many persons will not like to go to it, 
and will stay away. It is not often that we find in one man the 
words of the wise, which are like nails driven into a wall, and also 
the merry heart, which doeth good like a medicine. 

Besides (for I can put down in these tablets all I think, since 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 283 

they are only for my own eye), I am surprised that so much zeal 
should be joined with so much prudence. Truly they say that 
prudence is my idol, and that I love it too well. But who is so 
wise as he who knoweth how to wait ? The Preacher says there 
is a time for every thing, — a time to speak, and a time to hold 
one's peace. This youth, who speaketh with such power in Gali- 
lee, and moveth the people mightily, doth not use this powerful 
charm in Jerusalem, but always cometh to the feasts as a private 
man. He goeth, indeed, each day to the temple, and talketh 
with those whom he meets, about the kingdom ; but his voice is 
not lifted up, nor doth he seek to draw crowds, but avoideth them, 
as I noticed yesterday in the instance of the cure of the blind 
man. He is plainly waiting his time, and he thus giveth no 
occasion to the followers of Ishmael to complain. This is a 
virtue after my own heart, and therefore I intend to visit him in 
private. 

I have inquired, and learn that he stays each night at the house 
of one Eleazar, the son of Phabi, near the valley gate. I have a 
friend who knoweth Eleazar, and will introduce me to him. 

I shall go in the night ; for otherwise I may be seen going in, 
and the Ishmaelites (as we call them in sport) may say that I 
mean to become one of his disciples, which would be a stone of 
stumbling to many. 

The council has passed a law forbidding any one to confess 
Jesus to be the Christ, until the question has been pronounced 
upon by the council, to whom it belongs. This is right, and I 
voted for the measure. The punishment is exclusion from the 
synagogue and its privileges. 

My friend tells me that Jesus hath agreed to see me to-morrow 
night, the second day of the sabbath. 

I have seen the young man, and will here set down the chief 
points of our interview. 

When I went in, I was much moved by the face and manner of 
this youth. Though it was dark, the lamp giving a feeble light, 
his eyes were plainly seen, as if filled with a light of their own. 



284 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMU9. 

They had no watchfulness or suspicion in their bright and clear 
gaze ; but, being true themselves, they commanded truth from 
others. I put aside what I had meant to say, as unnecessary. I 
had thought to test him by some questions carefully prepared, 
but I was unable to do so. His look said, " Be honest, as I am : 
all else will be in vain." Therefore I said to him that I had seen 
and heard of his wonderful and gracious works in curing disease, 
and doing good everywhere, and this proved to my mind that he 
was a teacher sent by God ; for no one could do such wonders, 
unless God or Satan aided him. And, as his works were all good 
works, they could not come from Satan : therefore they must 
be done by the power of God. I had come then, I said, to ask 
what his purpose was, and what he wished to have us believe and 
do. 

The youth smiled with a certain sadness, and replied, " Truly, 
truly, when men see mighty signs and wonders, they are willing to 
believe. Men always seek for signs. Thou, also, desirest a sign, 
and believest because of signs. This is not the faith I ask for. 
The sign which will be given you will be like that of the prophet 
Jonah, not one of power and victory, but of defeat and ruin. 
"What will your faith be then, if it rests on signs of power and on 
mighty wonders ? " 

I answered him, and said, " The kingdom of the Christ will be 
surely a kingdom of power. What is a king, but a man who 
hath power to govern? The sages and scribes have knowledge, 
and are wise in themselves. The holy man becomes holy by liv- 
ing near God, and apart from men : he is holy for himself. A 
prophet gives truth to others, whether they hear or whether they 
forbear. Most prophets are despised by their own generation. 
But if God's kingdom is to come, and if his Christ is to come, he 
Cometh to conquer and triumph, and to put down his enemies and 
the enemies of his nation. He is no king until he hath conquered : 
until then he may be a saint or prophet, but he is not the Christ, 
the King. The prophet cometh as bearer of God's truth ; the 
King as full of God's power. If, then, thou art to be like Jonah, 
and be thrown into the sea, and disappear, thou canst not hope to 
be the Christ." Thus I spoke, opening my whole mind to him, 
as I seldom do to any one ; for the truth in his eyes drew all my 
thoughts out of me. 



JOURNAL OF NICODEMUS. 285 

And he told me I was right in this : that the Christ would be 
indeed a king, and would rule the world ; that all nations would 
bow down before him, and that he would draw all men to himself 
and to the Father. But he said that his kingdom would not be of 
this world ; nor would his servants fight, for that force. is not always 
power. lie M'ould indeed smite the earth, but only with the rod 
of his mouth, and slay the wicked with the breath of his lips ; 
that is, as I now understand it, by the power of truth. He said 
that truth in the mind is only knowledge, but in the life it be- 
comes power. He saw before him two ways to this end. He 
knew that there was in his soul the holy power of God to make 
of him the Christ, the King of the world. He knew that he was 
in the bosom of the Father always, in heaven and on earth at 
once, living from God, for man. If the rulers and people saw 
this in time, and received him as their King, the nation would 
become priests of the human race, and Jerusalem the light of the 
world. If they could humble themselves to be the servants of the 
world, they would be exalted to be the kings of the world. If 
they could accept poverty, humility, and the lowly place, — not 
hoping to receive, but ready to give, — in the service either of 
Eoman, Greek, or Samaritan, then they would rise to the mark of 
their great call, and become what God meant them to become. He 
himself then would be their leader, as a Christ on earth. But 
they must be born again for this, and become as little children. 
Without some such mighty change, they could not even see the 
kingdom of God. And he told me that I, too, must be wholly 
changed in my way of thinking, and in my expectation, in order 
to see the kingdom of God. If no such change were possible 
in the nation's mind, nevertheless he should become King, but by 
dying, as a seed dies in the ground, that its germ may come up iu 
a higher form. 

I have mingled my own thoughts with this master's words ; for, 
as he spake, new thoughts I never had before rushed into my 
mind. I seemed to behold a vision of the coming day of God, 
which the prophets foretold, — the reign of peace and love on the 
earth ; and my eyes were filled with tears as I answered, — 

" Alas! I am too old for such a change. How can a man as old 
as I, so fixed in all my habits, ever come out of them ? how live 
in such new and strange thoughts as these? They are too high for 



286 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

me : I caDiiot attain to them. How can a man be born when he is 
old?" 

The master answered, " He can be bom from above, born from 
within, by the power of God. The holy Spirit is waiting to be 
gracious. To be born of the flesh — that is, by an outward change, 
outward influence, and effort of our own — is diflacult : but to 
be bom of the Spirit is easy, when we are willing ; for then the 
power of God takes us out of ourselves into the bosom of the 
Father." 

But T, confused in my mind, and feeling my way, was like the 
blind man I had seen a few days before, to whom a new world of 
sight came so suddenly that it confused his sense. And I stam- 
mered forth, "How can these things be? " 

And he answered with kind but serious tone, " Art thou a mas- 
ter in Israel, and knowest not these things ? " 

Then he asked me if I did not know how the breath of God in 
the soul could at any moment create a new faith and love, how 
God's spirit could change the hard heart and stubborn will, and 
how the prophet taught us to say, " Create in me a clean heart, 
and renew a right spirit within me." Such changes of purpose 
and intention had been produced by the preaching of the prophet 
of the wilderness, the Baptizer. These were the rudiments of 
faith. " How canst thou understand," said he, "' all the higher 
wonders of the kingdom, all its heavenly mysteries, if thou art so 
confused by these things ? " 

And I saw, as he spoke, that his own soul is full of insights so 
high, that there is, I suppose, no man on earth able to comprehend 
them. And I thought he must needs be the most lonely man alive, 
since he can only talk with God of these things ; yet who would 
not be willing to be so alone with God ? But, most strange, this 
man does not go from the world to pray and meditate, and com- 
mune with the Almighty, but spends his days in the streets and 
"wherever men are to be found. He seems to love all men more, 
the more he loves God. He, though alone with God, is always 
walking with man. Then I understood one of his sayings, 
" No man hath gone up so high into heaven as he who hath 
come down out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is always in 
heaven." 

Can this be The Christ ? 



LETTER FEOM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 287 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS, ONE OF THE SAN- 
HEDRIM, AND A JEWISH STOIC, TO SOTION THE PHI- 
LOSOPHER AT ROME. 

Health and Peace. I write to thee, my master and teacher, 
moved by my desire to tell thee the story of a youth of our nation, 
whose teaching in many things resembles what I heard in the 
Stoa at Rome, when I was benefited by thy instructions. When 
I listened to thee, I sat near thy pupil, Annseus Seneca, some of 
whose writings are in the Bibliotheca of our temple. What thou 
didst teach us of the wisdom of life hath remained deeply fixed 
in my mind, as well as what thou didst report of the sayings of 
Zeno, of Cleanthes and Chrysippus, and of Athenodorus, who 
taught Cato. I also recall what thou didst tell us of Quintus 
Sextius, that soul of fire, that writer of supreme force ; and of 
his son Sextius the second, who said that Jupiter himself had 
no more, power than a good man, except that Jupiter can be 
virtuous for a longer time. I also listened to Attalus, and 
learned from him to deny myself the use of luxuries ; so that 
I gave up the enjoyment of the bath, of perfumes, of oysters and 
wine. .He taught me, also, to sleep on a hard mattress, on 
which the body would make no print. And thus have I lived 
unto this day. 

Thou knowest well, my master, that, between the doctrines of 
the Porch and those of the Jews, there are many resemblances. 
Thus, though I belong to the strictest of Jewish schools, that of 
the Separate Society, I am yet able to receive the teachings 
of the Porch ; for our people believe in one indestructible and 
immortal God, and so do the Stoics. All other deities, we, like 
yourselves, consider as doomed to perish. The Jews have also 
condemned images of the gods. One of our great prophets ridi- 
cules the man who makes an idol, and worships it, saying that he 
takes part of a stick of wood, and makes a fire and warms him- 
self, and of the rest he makes a god, and worships it. And so the 
Stoics say that no image of gold or silver can resemble God. We 
believe in the resurrection of the body ; and thy master Chry- 
sippus says, that, after a great lapse of time, we, after death, shall 
return, by a steady cycle of change, into the same form which we 



288 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

now inhabit. The Jews, like the Stoics, look forward to a great 
conflagration, and a purification of the world, by which it will be 
destroyed and restored. We also, like yourselves, believe in a 
divine Pronoia, or Providence, which watches all things. 

The young man of whom I have spoken is named Jesus, and 
comes from a part of our province where much ignorance prevails. 
He hath never attended our schools in Jerusalem ; yet his wisdom 
is conspicuous, and some divine spirit seemeth to speak through 
his lips. Though he cannot have heard the teaching of our phi- 
losophers, he is reported to have said many things which remind 
me of them. Thou knowest, O Sotion ! with what superstitious 
awe our nation regardeth the great temple in this city ; but this 
young man speaketh of it Mith little respect. He is reported by 
several witnesses, as saying that men should not worship the 
eternal Father in the temple at Jerusalem, nor in that on Mount 
Gerizim; for that God is Spirit, and can only be worshipped 
aright in the temple of an honest heart. I recollect thy telling 
us how Aristo of Chios said that " the object of speech is to purify 
the soul." Our young prophet also declares that what entereth 
the mouth doth not defile a man ; but that what goeth out of it in 
impure and dishonest language defileth a man, and that our 
words make us just or unjust. Aristo compared the subtle dis- 
tinctions of the grammarians and philosophers to the fine web 
which a spider spins to catch flies : our prophet also condemns 
such subtleties. In our schools they are much practised, and fine 
distinctions are drawn, diflBcult to understand and to remember, 
between what is forbidden, and what allowed, in all actions. 
Jesus condemns such distinctions as false and dangerous, and 
thanks God that the pure in heart, like innocent children, can see 
the things of God which are hidden from men of great study and 
science. 

He also teacheth one of our doctrines which I have always 
deemed the highest, namely, that the harmony of all virtues in 
the soul is the root of good actions. He declareth, as we do, that 
the wise man must be perfect and complete on every side. Thus 
thou didst teach us, O excellent master, that all virtues are one, 
and that he who has one has all ; that virtue must be perfect, 
or it is not virtue. All virtue, thou didst say, comes from an 
inward source, from our inward desire and love ; and that our 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 289 

wish to do good makes us good, even though we are unable to 
accomplish that desire in our actions. A man becometh good, 
thou didst say, when he hath a good intention in his soul ; and 
as all our intentions must be either good or bad, so all men are 
either good or bad, according to their intentions. 

This, also, is taught by the prophet Jesus. He maketh all 
goodness, as well as all evil, inward, of the heart. " A good tree," 
he saith, " must bring forth good fruit, and an evil tree, evil fruit." 
" Out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." " What 
is born of the flesh is flesh ; and what is born of the Spirit is 
spirit." 

He teacheth that the root of murder is in the heart, and that 
anger and wrath are really murder. He saith that evil desire in 
the heart is the same thing as its outward expression in licentious 
action ; that to say what is not true is the same thing as to break 
an oath ; that merely to love our friends, while we hate our ene- 
mies, is not love at all ; but that we must be able to love our 
enemies also, or else we do not really love. He teacheth that men 
must be like the gods, who do good, hoping for nothing again. 

I mentioned before, that Jesus declared that the worship of 
the Father must be in spirit and truth. This reminded me of the 
saying of the Stoic, as reported by Cicero in his treatise on the 
Nature of the Gods : " The best and most chaste worship, and 
that most full of piety, is always to venerate the gods with a 
pure, entire, and uncorrupt mind." 

Jesus also saith that God is to be loved, and not feared ; for 
God doeth good to all, and is kind to the evil and unthankful, 
sending his rain on the just and the unjust. Thou hast taught 
us the same; and my fellow-disciple, Annseus Seneca, in one of 
his Epistles uses these words : " No one who is sane is afraid 
of the gods. No one loves what he fears, and it is madness to 
be afraid of that which is always doing us good." 

I learned in thy school, that to light candles in the temples 
in the daytime is absurd ; since the gods do not need light, and 
men are not made more holy by the smoke of torches. Thou 
didst say that the gods take no pleasure in words of praise, and 
that he who knoweth God worships him. They who trust in God 
worship him aright. He needeth no servants in his temple, no 
service at his altar, since he is himself the universal Servant, not 



290 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

wishing to be ministered unto, but to minister. We propitiate 
God by being good and doing good. AYe show our reverence for 
him by imitating his beneficence to others. What pleasure can 
he take in the sacrifice of innocent lambs? The most magnificent 
temple man can raise is poor and low compared with the vast 
plain of earth Mhich supports the great dome of the sky. 

Taught thus in thy school, I look with dislike on mucli which 
surrounds me here at Jerusalem, where the religion of Moses and 
the prophets hath become corrupt, and a mercenary body of priests 
have reduced our religion to a routine of ceremonies. All has 
grown hard and cold, like the ice we once gathered in a cleft 
on the northern side of Soracte. If I conform to these practices, 
it is not because I believe them grateful to God, but because they 
are commanded by our laws. 

To tell the truth, O Sotion ! I have never been wholly contented 
even with our Stoic philosophy; and for this reason, that we are 
satisfied with hearing it and teaching it, but do not often act as if 
we believed it. We despise riches, and yet heap them up. We 
say that all men are our brethren, but we do very little for them. 
We say that men must be perfect in all goodness, yet we are not 
much better than others. We are like those who propose to climb 
a mountain, and, with the summit in their eye, continue to walk 
always on the plain. Our philosophy, we say, is for life and ac- 
tion ; not for speculation, but to enable men to lead virtuous lives. 
Some, no doubt, do this; but as an unseen current draweth back 
a swimmer, so most of us continue to drift backward to our 
former habits. 

But this young prophet is so bold, that he plainly hopes and in- 
tends to change the life of the world, to put an end to war and 
sin. He doth not hesitate to tell the rulers and priests, the scribes 
and doctors, that they are leading the nation to ruin. He calleth 
on them to return, and be followers of God, and obedient to him; 
and he promiseth, that, if they will do so, this nation shall lead 
mankind into a kingdom of heaven. And he saith that the hour 
for tliis has come, and is now here. 

Is this all a dream? Whence doth he receive this wonderful 
power over human hearts ? Great numbers believe that he is the 
King who is to come. The Senate (to use your Roman equiva- 
lent) hath voted that he is a false prophet and a blasphemer ; and 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 291 

orders have been issued to have him arrested and put to death. 
Yet no one hath ventured to execute these orders. He is guarded, 
not by a cohort of soldiers, but by the love and awe of the people. 
When he is absent, the rulers speak of him with contempt as a 
vile impostor; but when he appeareth in Jerusalem, which is usu- 
ally at the feasts, he walketh and teacheth every day openly in 
the courts of the temple, and no man lays hands on him. So that 
our decrees have become almost a laughing-stock to the people, 
and it is openly said that the rulers also believe in him. 

And no doubt great numbers incline to accept him, even in our 
own society and in the Senate. He is also a skilful physician, 
and cureth multitudes of bodily diseases by some magical process. 
He speaketh to the sick, and they are instantly cured : such are 
the reports brought to us by the spies who are sent out by the 
Senate, and who have followed him during many months. These 
reports are copied by the scribes, and preserved in rolls in the 
archives of the temple. I have been allowed to see them; and 
what I relate hath been taken, in a great degree, from these rolls. 

In reading these reports, I find one mark of greatness which 
astonisheth me. Thou knowest, that as the Greeks divide man- 
kind into Greeks and Barbarians, and as the Komans divide them 
into Roman citizens and foreigners, so we divide the world into 
Jews and Gentiles. Thus Greeks, Romans, and Jews despise all 
nations but their own. Thou, my Sotion, hast often told me that 
our great teachers rose above this narrowness, declaring every 
man to be a citizen of the world. All men partake of the one 
divine reason : all are therefore members of one body. Our Sene- 
ca, in a Treatise on Doing Good, which he hath sent to me, saith, 
" Let this line be in our heart and on our lips : * I am a man, and 
nothing which concerns man can be indifferent to me.' My very 
constitution as man maketh it a more miserable thing to injure 
another than to be injured by him. He who cometh to me with 
110 other recommendation, if he is called a man, is a gracious 
guest." 

What difference doth it make, so we have been taught to say, 
whether a man is a slave or a freeman, a friend or a foe ? If we 
can do him good, we ought to do so, even though he hateth us. 
We all belong to one family, under the fatherly government of 
the divine reason. 



292 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

My heart hath burned within me when I have heard such things 
from thee and from my other teachers. But, O Sotion, how little 
have any of us been able to fulfil these doctrines in our lives ! Do 
we ever treat our slaves as friends ? Have we done any thing, 
even to prepare the way for this great union of all men in one 
family ? 

But this very thing is that which our prophet meaneth actually 
to do. He calleth this universal brotherhood of man the kingdom 
of heaven on earth. He saith that the hour hath come for it, and 
that God hath sent him to establish it. He declareth that God is 
ready to pour out his Spirit on all human beings, and unite them 
all in one family. He announceth that our nation hath been 
chosen to do this work ; and, if it accept him as its leader, our 
people shall become the teachers of the world. 

And he adds deeds to his words. He maketh no difference 
between Jew, Greek, Roman, Samaritan, and Phoenician. He 
eateth and drinketh with them, and treateth them all as his 
friends. He goeth with the sinful and abandoned classes, as well 
as with the rich and learned ; he talketh with lepers, and consoleth 
them ; taketh madmen by the hand, and cureth them ; dineth with 
the Roman tax-gatherers ; and lifteth the feeble out of the dust 
by his words of good will and his bountiful actions. All this is 
done, not by an effort, but as if it came spontaneously from his 
soul. Perhaps the gods, pitying our race, intend that this won- 
derful youth shall introduce among us a better age; perhaps the 
words of thy great poet will come true, — 

" Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo." 

If we could ever say or believe that a God can come down among 
men to help them, this strange youth, so strong and so gracious, 
so wise and so sincere, so full of heavenly and earthly love, might 
be such an incarnate logos, or heavenly word. 

And how, indeed, is intellectual truth to become alive, unless by 
some new influx of life from above ? Thought cannot make itself 
alive, cannot turn itself into life. Great philosophers have come 
to fill cur minds with noble thoughts ; but we need prophets, as 
well as philosophers. Greece and Rome have given to mankind 
the great thinkers. But in our small nation of Israel have come a 
long line of prophets, who have poured a stream of religious life 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 293 

into the heart of our people. This young man may be another, 
sent by God to help us to make the divine thoughts of Plato and 
Zeno divine realities. Plato describes the republic and laws as 
they should be ; but, since his day, four centuries have gone by, 
and this republic and these laws are still only a vision of the 
mind. Plato was like the architect who plans a house ; but Moses 
was like a builder, who puts it into stone and wood. The Jewish 
nation, with its customs, religion, and laws, is still here, as the 
house built by Moses ; but it hath become too narrow for the grow- 
ing mind of men. Perhaps this prophet is to be a second Moses, 
and will build a house large enough to hold all mankind. 

Something very strange hath lately occurred in this vicinity. 
There is a family in a village near Jerusalem, with which our 
young prophet is intimate. It consists of a brother and two sis- 
ters. The brother died, and was buried. Four days after, as many 
credible witnesses aver, he was restored to life by Jesus. The 
story seemeth incredible, but it hath produced much impression 
on many leading people of weight in this community. Some of 
my friends, members of our society, some of the priests, and some 
of the Senate, were present at the time, and solemnly declare that 
the facts are as they were stated to be. In consequence, a very 
large body of people are prepared to become the followers of Jesus 
whenever he re-appears among us. I should not be surprised if the 
Sanhedrim, by a numerous vote, should accept him as our Christ, 
which might produce dangerous complications. But there is a 
large body who are bitterly opposed to him, and determined to go 
all lengths in defeating his purpose. The great body of our soci- 
ety are hostile to him, because he hath openly denounced many of 
our methods and practices. 

For my own part, I have greatly doubted what to do. I cer- 
tainly think him right in his censures on the condition of our 
society. What he condemns, I have also condemned. There are 
a number of the younger members who agree with me. We are 
utterly weary of the little miserable questions about what ought 
to be done or not done on the sabbath, or in our ablutions, or on 
the festivals. The great laws of justice and mercy are broken 
up into a thousand vermiculate precepts. Instead of preparing 
our hearts to worship God with awe and love, we spend our time 
la debating what position the body should take, and how the 



294 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

words of oiir prayer should be uttered. We often put on a show 
of holiness, wear solemn faces, go out into the street with long 
robes of black to attract attention, suddenl}^ stop, as if absorbed 
in prayer, at the corner of the streets. Meantime, we love wealth, 
and heap it up ; we live in luxury in our houses ; we are bitter 
against those who differ from us ; we despise all people but our- 
selves. We are ready to persecute and kill every man who has the 
courage to prophesy in the spirit of Isaiah and Ezekiel. This 
prophet of Galilee is full of the spirit of the great seers and sages 
of our nation ; and those who are always praising the prophets of 
old are ready to murder him. I cannot but reverence his lofty 
spirit, and I sympathize with his noble teaching. 

Thou mayst ask, my friend, why I do not forsake the Separate 
Society, and join myself to Jesus ? I have been on the point of 
doing so, as I will presently explain to thee; but some reasons 
prevent me from taking this course. 

The Society of Pharisees, or Separate Ones, hath a great his- 
tory, and its work hath been a very useful one, and I do not yet 
despair of seeing it filled again with its old life. The prophet 
compares it with bad leaven, by which he means that the essen- 
tial spirit pervading all the parts is evil. He does not merely 
think that this or that limb is diseased, but believes its inmost 
soul to be evil. He says it is inwardly false, and carries falseness 
into its actions. If I believed thus, I would at once renounce 
the society; but I see so much good mixed with the evil, that 
I cannot give up all hope. There is a party among the Phari- 
sees, at present small indeed, and not having great influence, but 
young, and full of ardor. They sympathize entirely with the 
spirit and work of Jesus. Ought I not to stay with them, and 
help them to reform the society from within? If I leave the 
society, I throw away my influence, and shall be looked on as a 
traitor: but, if I remain, I can tell the truth to the very persons 
who need to hear it the most ; I can watch Ben-Gamlah, who hates 
the prophet, and defeat his plans ; I can improve the spirit of our 
society, and bring it back to its original generous objects. 

Let me tell thee something of its past history. 

It is now about five hundred years since Ezra, the first scribe, 
brought back from Babylon to Jerusalem about fifty thousand 
Jews, and built the second temple. With him began a new sys- 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 295 

tern. Revelation had come to an end, and instead of it came 
instruction. The teaching class, or doctors, succeeded to the in- 
spired class, or prophets. Reason was inaugurated in the schools, 
in which the people were daily taught the meaning of the Scrip- 
tures by oral instruction. 

Ezra also established the Grand Synod, consisting of the most 
pious and learned men of the nation. He gave us a liturgy, and 
founded the synagogue. As our people had lost their knowledge 
of Hebrew at Babylon, and spoke Chaldee, Ezra had the Bible 
translated into the vulgar tongue. He established the custom 
of erecting two pulpits in the synagogues, in one of which stood 
the interpreter giving the translation, or targum ; in the other 
the scribe, who explained the meaning of the text to the people. 

The scribes, therefore, or sepJwrim, are teachers, and the teachers 
of a public education. #A11 God's people could not be prophets, 
as Moses wished ; but all could be taught the Scriptures. After- 
ward schools for children were founded, and education for all 
introduced. Every child of six years old must go to school ; 
and there must be a teacher for every twenty-five children, the 
course of instruction lasting six or eight years. Thus our whole 
nation is taught from childhood ; and we alone, among the people 
of the earth, are all imbued with the knowledge of ancient times, 
and the truth of religion and virtue. 

In all this work the Pharisees have been the chief actors. 

Our society began in this way. As soon as the Scriptures of 
the law and prophets were thus taught, the doctors or scribes 
began to differ as to what was most important. All agreed that 
the law required both worship and obedience : the first table of 
the law taught duty to God ; the second, duty to man. Some said 
that to worship one God is the root of all goodness, and that 
piety to God comes before the offices of justice and mercy to man. 
Those who taught this were called " Hassidim," or the pious : 
those who taught human virtue were called " Tsadikim," or moral 
men. From this word " Tsadikim " came the title " Sadducees.'* 
By degrees the Sadducees allied themselves with the rulers and 
chief priests, and became an aristocracy, fond of luxury and the 
arts of Greece. They filled their houses with Greek statues, read 
the works of Homer and Epikuros, and lost their influence over 
the people. 



296 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

But the Hassidim ^vere austere, self-den^-ing men, patriots, and 
democrats. They had little sympathy ^vith the priesthood ; for they 
did not hope to be saved from sin by the sacrifices and ritual of 
the temple, but by the power of the Holy Word. They believed 
in free thought and in private judgment. They substituted sci- 
ence for authority. Instead of the worship of the temple, they 
established the prayers and preaching of the synagogue. The 
priests inherited their privileges, and were an hereditary caste. 
But in the synagogue the rulers are chosen by the whole kehilah, 
or community. There, three times a day, prayers are offered, and 
the eighteen benedictions read, which call down a blessing on all 
the authorities of the land, — on the Hassidim and Tsadikim, the 
Sopherim or Scribes, the Elders, and the Proselytes. 

While the Tsadikim joined the priests and rulers, and were 
corrupted by Greek influences, and lost«all national feeling, the 
Hassidim opposed this corruption. But after a while thej'- divided 
into two parties, — the Essenes, "who lived in monasteries, and be- 
came Solitaries ; and the Pharisees, who were Separatists, so called 
because they came out and were separate from the world, deter- 
mined not to touch any unclean thing. 

When the brave Maccabees arose to resist the tyranny of the 
kings of Syria, the Pharisees through the whole land encouraged 
and supported the patriot cause ; ^hile the Sadducees took sides 
with the high priest, who was an instrument of the Syrian king. 
So, when the Maccabees triumphed, the Pharisees acquired power, 
influence, and popularity. But then came to them the love of 
money, of rank, of power, of praise. Our society hath always 
taught that the whole Jewish people are the true priesthood, and 
are intended to be the priests for all mankind. Wherever we go, 
we establish synagogues, and make proselytes. Ten Israelites can 
found a kehilah, or congregation: and every kehilah must have,' 
as soon as possible, its house of prayer, its schoolhouse, its civil 
chief, its religious chief, all elected by free suffrage. Each kehi- 
lah is self-governed, and independent of every other. Any lay- 
man, when elected, can perform all religious rites, circumcise 
children, celebrate marriage, bless births, say prayers for the 
dying, and bury the dead. Thus Jerusalem may perish, but the 
Jewish religion will endure. The temple worship may cease; but 
our society, by its synagogue worship, will have saved the nation. 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 297 

I can imagine a time in which the temple shall be overthrown, and 
Jerusalem become a desert; but the Jewish nation and its law will 
survive. This will be due to the Pharisees and their democratic 
and decentralized communities. Thus every Jew becomes a mis- 
sionary. Every one who says " God is one and his name one " 
hath a part in our great work of converting the world to the one 
true God. The altar may then perish, but love will remain. 

Since our society hath done so much for the nation and the 
world, dost thou marvel that I hesitate to leave it to become a 
disciple of Jesus ? As long as it continues to produce such men 
as Hillel, that "eagle of the synagogue," may I not think that 
the fire of love still burns below the ashes of form ? Hillel said 
that the whole substance of the law was in this maxim, " Do noth- 
ing to another which you do not wish to have done to you." This 
prophet of Galilee also says, "Whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye also to them; for this is the law and the 
prophets." I confess that this saying of Jesus is broader than 
that of Hillel, since the positive includ.es the negative, and goes 
beyond it. And in this the teaching of Jesus seems to go further 
than the law ; for his teaching of morals is positive, while that of 
the law is mostly negative. The Ten Commandments say, "Do 
not: " Jesus says, " Do." The Commandments say, " Thou shalt 
not have any God before me;" "Thou shalt do no murder;" 
"Thou shalt not steal." But Jesus says, "Love your enemies, 
bless them that curse you, do good to those that hate you." 

When I first met with Jesus and his disciples, I supposed that 
they belonged to the Essenes, whom they resemble in some ways. 
Like the Essenes, Jesus opposes oaths ; like the Essenes, he speaks 
of immortality as something which is close to us, and he hath no 
fear of death; like the Essenes, — Ouias, Juda, Menahem, and 
Simon, — he hath the gifts of prophecy and of miracles ; like them, 
he hath founded a community which hath a common purse; like 
them, he teaches that the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; like them, 
he lays more stress on purity of heart and life than on sacrifices. 
But I found soon, that, with these outward resemblances, there 
is an inward divergence between him and the Essenes. Their 
fundamental principle is solitude : he goes into society. They go 
out of the world to escape temptation : he meets temptation, and 
resists it. They separate themselves from the contamination of 



298 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYIVIUS. 

evil doers : he goes to find evil doers, to lead tliem to repentance. 
The Essenes deny themselves common food, live on roots and 
herbs, and wear coarse raiment : Jesus and his disciples dress and 
eat like others, and he teaches that what goeth into the mouth 
doth not defile a man. In all this he differs from the Essenes as 
the positive differs from the negative. They devote themselves 
to avoiding evil: he seeks to do good, sure that evil is always 
conquered when good is done. 

In the communities of the Essenes there are degrees of initia- 
tion, frequent ablutions, a white linen dress at meals; none of 
which I find in the practice of Jesus. Our society, which believes 
in aggression on the world, calls the Essenes "pious imbeciles," 
and ridicules their doctrine of a community of goods, saying, " He 
who says mine is thine, and thine is mine, is an ass." In this 
respect Jesus is nearer to us than to the Essenes ; for, although he 
sometimes tells the rich to give all they have to the poor, he doth 
not make this a universal rule. And he, like ourselves, believes 
in attacking evil and sin in its strongholds. 

Thus, though I much admire the teaching of this Nazarene, and 
am strongly impressed by it, I have not decided to leave the socie- 
ty of the Pharisees, nor to resign my place in the senate, to join 
him. It is true that one day I was so moved by the beauty of his 
words and the charm of his presence, that I could not refrain, but 
ran to him, and kneeled down before him, and said, " Good master, 
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" I shall never 
forget the look of benign approval which filled his countenance. 
He spoke to me tenderly, first telling me that he ought not to let 
himself be called " good," since all goodness flows into the soul 
from God, and none of it is ours. Then he said, " If thou wilt 
enter into life, keep the Commandments." I said, *' Which of the 
Commandments, master, shall I keep?" He answered, "Thou 
knowest them well : do not kill, nor steal, nor commit adultery, 
nor bear false witness, nor covet, but honor thy father and moth- 
er, and love thy neighbor as thyself." And, when I told him I had 
kept all these from my youth, he did not rebuke me, and say I 
deceived myself, and was self-righteous, as many would have 
done ; but he looked on me with an expression of heavenly love, 
and said, " One thing thou lackest to be perfect. Sell all thou 
hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow me, and thou shalt 



LETTER FROM THE RABBI EPINETUS. 299 

have treasure in heaven." And a great chill fell over me at these 
words ; for how could I make up my mind to such a renunciation ? 
I saw myself poor, losing my rank and position, cast out of the 
synagogue, excommunicated from the society, deposed from my 
place as a ruler, and, after having lost all my friends, obliged to 
associate only with the ignorant men and women whom he had 
gathered around him. He saw my great sadness, and said, " Yes, 
it is hard, very hard, to give up so much. It is hard for those who 
are rich in every thing to leave all to enter the kingdom of God." 

Then I rose, and went away. I had not the strength to make 
this great sacrifice. I do not know if I was right or wrong, but 
it seems to me I was right. Since God has given me these talents, 
— power, rank, wealth, influence, — have I any right to bury them 
in the ground? Ought I not to use them for good purposes, instead 
of throwing them away? I am now in a position where I can do 
great good, where I can influence many. If I became a disciple 
of the Nazarene, and one of his twelve, I should never be heard 
of again. Who, fifty years hence, will ever hear the names of his 
twelve missionaries, — Simon Peter, James, John, and nine others ? 
They have not the genius nor the inspiration of their master : they 
are wholly destitute of knowledge. His name may survive, but 
surely not theirs. But if I complete, as I hope to do, my great 
work on " The History of the Separate Society," I shall acquire 
great fame. How glad I ought to be that I refused the invitation 
of Jesus! 

And yet, and yet, I am sometimes sad when I think of it. Oh 
that look of love! what a heaven seemed to open when it fell 
upon me 1 " . 



300 THE LEGEND OF TH03IAS. CALLED DEDTMUS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ox THE WAT TO JERUSALEM. LEATTS'G GALILEE FOR THE 
LAST TniE. 

After these things, the master told us that we were about 
to leave Galilee, as his work there was ended : indeed, to 
me, all the people of this region seemed ready to follow him, 
and to accept him as leader and guide. In this country, 
where men lived scattered iu small villages. — raising sheep 
and cattle on the hills, corn, wine, and oil in the valleys. — the 
influence of the rulers and priesthood was small. Xor did the 
Society of Separatists have much power. The inhabitants 
listened gladly to the master's teaching of a reign of peace 
and love, of universal brotherhood, of God dwelling among 
men. In fact, the power of Jesus was so great, that Herod 
Antipas was thoroughly alarmed, and consulted with the 
relentless priests and rabbis as to the best way to seize and 
kill him. 

And yet among these there were those who loved the mas- 
ter ; for while we were yet in the neighborhood of Til^erias, 
at Kaphar-nahum. one evening we were told of two men 
who wished to see Jesus. I asked them of their business ; 
for we did not permit strangers to come to him now. since 
we had heard of the edict passed by the Sanhedrim, that 
he should be killed. Then one of the young men said, 
'•I am a Pharisee, one of the Separatists: but I reverence 
goodness, and I am sure your master is a good man : and 
my brother who is with me also feels thus : therefore we 
have come to say, that men speak in our society as if it were 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 301 

certain that Herod has decided to seize your master, and kill 
him. I know that he hath given orders to a centurion to take 
a file of soldiers, and come by night to this town to seize 
and bind the prophet, and to take him away. And, when he 
is carried away, he is to be killed, and buried in a lonely 
place among the hills. Meantime Herod will deny that he 
knows any thing of the matter. We have come privately 
to say that the only safety will be in quickly leaving this 
region, and that under cover of darkness." Hearing this, 
we called the master, and the young men repeated their story. 
But Jesus smiled, and said, "Ye have guileless hearts, and 
are upright, and I give you thanks for your good will. But 
Herod will do me no harm. He is not a lion, but a fox. 
He hath deceived you, meaning you to come and tell me this ; 
for he desires that I should leave the country. Go back, 
then, and say to him that I am to remain here but three days 
longer, and then my work in Galilee will be finished. I 
shall do my work in these three days, and no harm will hap- 
pen to me ; for all prophets must die in Jerusalem. It is 
Jerusalem which stones the prophets, and puts the righteous 
to death." Thus he spake, and the 3^oung' men went away 
astonished. 

Our master was always earnest, but not always grave. 
He said pleasant things often, and spake with a smile. Nor 
was any thing so small, but by means of it he could teach 
some truth ; for he saw God's laws working in the smallest 
matters, as in the largest. Once, as we journeyed, we came 
to a town where the richest man gave a feast, and we were 
bidden. As we entered the hall of reception, where the tables 
were spread for the supper, Jesus spoke to us privately, and 
said, "Observe how they crowd forward to take the best 
places. But this is not wise ; for it is better to have a place 
not as good as you deserve than one better than you deserve. 
It is better to have men say, ' Why is he not placed higher? ' 
than to have them ask, ' Who is this who hath so high a seat? ' 



302 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Thus in this small matter the law also prevails, that whoever 
exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that humbleth him- 
self shall be exalted." We all sat together iu the lowest 
seats. Then was fulfilled what he had prophesied : for the 
master of the house, hearing that the prophet was there, left 
his own seat, and came to him, and besought him to take a 
place near himself ; and room was made for us also. Thus 
was Jesus seated near the lord of the feast, and said to him, 
still with a smile, " Shall I tell thee, O Isaac ! how to increase 
the joy of thy banquets ? Do not invite the rich, to whom 
it is nothing new to go to a feast ; but ask the poor, to whom 
it will be a wonderful and very joyful thing. Do not ask 
the rich ; for they will ask thee again, and then thou wilt be 
repaid. If thou dost ask the poor, they cannot repay thee ; 
and thy gift to them will be remembered on thy behalf in the 
resurrection of the just. ' ' But he said this not solemnly, but 
cheerfully. One man, however, who sat near, was displeased 
that a prophet should give advice about such trivial things as 
giving and receiving a feast : so he cried out in a hoarse and 
harsh voice, and with a gloomy look, "Blessed is he that 
shall eat bread in the kingdom of God ! ' ' meaning to re- 
buke the master for not being sufficiently religious. But 
Jesus replied, " That is true, Jonathan : yet many, when that 
feast is given, will not wish to go to it, but will beg to be 
excused. Let us be careful, Jonathan, not to be of the 
number. Then he told the story of those, who, being invited 
to a supper, excused themselves by press of business, till the 
master sent and called men out of the streets to take their 
empty places. "The feast of the kingdom," said he, "is 
soon to be spread, O Jonathan ! but, if the children of Abra- 
ham refuse to come to it, the lord of the feast will surely call 
in the publicans and the people of Tyre and Sidon, who live 
on the trampled highways of the world. And many shall 
come from the east and west, even from Persia and Rome 
and Greece, and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 303 

Jacob in the kingdom of God ; while the sons of Jacob shall 
be left outside, saying, ' Lord, open unto us ! ' and shall cry 
in vain." 

And, when Jesus thus spoke, those of the Separate Society 
were offended, and their faces gathered blackness ; but the 
Gentiles who were there rejoiced greatly, and said, "A prophet 
has risen up in Israel who cares for us also." 

Before these three days were over, the brethren of Jesus 
arrived at Kaphar-nahum from Nazareth, going to Jerusalem 
to the Feast of Booths, or Ingathering, which was near at 
hand. Now, these brethren of Jesus could not believe that 
he was the Coming King of Israel ; since it is hard to believe 
in one whom you have always known as one like yourself, 
living in your father's house. Neither did they disbelieve 
it wholly, but were in doubt. Therefore they said, "How 
can we believe in thee, O brother ! when thou art so private 
in thy works, and dost not any thing in public before the 
people ? Go now to Jerusalem to this feast, not as before, 
as a private pilgrim, but go as the King of Israel, — if truly 
thou art he, — and do great works there, so that the whole 
nation may know that thou art the Coming One ; and we will 
then, also, gladly believe in thee." 

But Jesus answered, and said, " For that manifestation the 
time hath not yet come. I cannot go with you to this feast, 
since men are waiting to kill me, and are watching for me. 
But you can go without danger, for they have no hatred for 
you. Go, then ; and, when my time hath fully come, I will be 
there." 

Jesus, knowing that his work in Galilee was over, went 
up with us, late in the day, to the side of a hill which over- 
looked the lake, and the cities along its shore. And, as he 
looked at them, his face became very sad, and he lamented 
over them, because they had not hearkened to his words. In 
these cities most of his wonderful works were done, and his 
wonderful words were spoken ; yet the people went on their 



304 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

way as before, and seemed no better for what they had heard, 
though they listened gladly. 

Thus he looked down upon the cities, and the lake, and the 
lovely coast, knowing he should see them no more. Never 
again should he scatter the seed of his word, nevermore 
bring comfort to troubled souls, never heal the sick bodies 
and sick minds of this people whom he loved so well. But 
what he thought of most was the hearts which remained hard, 
and untouched by all he had done. Because of these, tears 
fell from his eyes, and he said, " O cities full of comfort and 
riches and peace, how soon ye will be desolated with war ! 
Why did ye not listen to my words, and take warning, and 
forsake your sins ? and then ye might have been spared the 
woes to come, and the hell of miser}^ into which ye are to 
fall." 

After this we left Galilee, and saw it no more during our 
master's life. We did not go directly to Jerusalem, but 
eastward, beyond Jordan. The main road from Galilee to 
Jerusalem, by which the pilgrims journeyed, ran directly 
south ; but Jesus, with his disciples, now went by another 
road farther to the east, which, after passing into the north- 
eastern corner of Samaria, turned abruptly, and crossed the 
Jordan into Persea. When we reached this part of Samaria, 
where the people were more rude than on the highway of 
Sichem, as we approached the village where we were to stop 
for the night, our messengers, who had gone before, returned 
to us, and said, " They refuse to give us lodging, because 
they hold us to be pilgrims going to the Jewish feasts." 
Then two of the twelve missionaries cried out, " Master, 
destroy their village with fire from heaven. Call down the 
lightning to punish them." And the two who spoke thus 
were the sous of Zebedaios, — Jacob and Johannan. Then 
the master looked on them with a grave sadness, and said, 
" Would ye, then, rather be called Sons of Thunder than 
Sons of Peace? " And the two were abashed. But, being 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 305 

willing to defend themselves, they said, "Did not Elias call 
down fire from heaven, and that twice, to consmne the cap- 
tains and their fifties, who yet had done him no harm, but 
only obeyed the king who sent them to call Elias to come 
to him ? ' ' And Jesus answered, ' ' The spirit and power of 
Elias are not the same as my spirit and my power. I have 
not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. The 
prophets in old times followed their light ; but that light is 
now darkness, since the new light shineth." Thus the mas- 
ter taught us that many things in the law and the prophets 
must pass away, not being destroyed, but rather fulfilled in 
something higher. 

We left the village where we were rejected, and went to 
another. There we were well received, and abode some days. 
On the day after our arrival, Jesus called us all together, 
and said, " I shall remain here for a little space of time, 
while ye go before me, and announce that the kingdom of 
God draws nigh. I will send out all of you, except a few 
who will remain with me until ye return." Then, selecting 
eight or ten to remain with himself, he sent the others before 
him in twos. And there were seventy in all. He first gave 
them their instructions. 

He told them that the minds of men were ready to be 
moved by their teaching, even as a vast field of wheat, 
which is over-ripe, waits impatiently for the reapers. "The 
harvest," said he, " is too large for the reapers. But the 
Lord will send us more laborers : therefore, go forward with 
confidence." Then he named the towns they were to visit 
after having left Samaria, and gone into Persea, which is on 
the east of the Jordan. He told them, as soon as they 
entered a town, to go to the sick people, and the wretched 
lepers, and those afflicted with epilepsy, who were usually 
collected under the shade of the trees during the day. 
When they reached them, they were to lay their hands on 
them, and, being full of faith, to command the disease to 



30G THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, .CALLED DIDYMUS. 

leave them, and it would do so. When this was noised 
abroad, the people would come together, and they must say 
to them, '• Behold ! our master hath sent us before his face, 
giving us power to heal the body. But he who is a healer 
of souls is coming after us, and the kingdom of God is at 
hand." 

Then he directed them to trust wholly to the charity of 
men for whatever they needed, and to go unprovided with 
money or food. Thus they would learn to trust the good 
will of their fellowmen. He told them to ask for nothing, 
but to eat whatever was given them ; for to this they had a 
right, l^^len the time of rest came, they were to go into any 
house, and stand in the doorway, and say, " Peace be to this 
house." If any well-disposed people were there, they would 
be asked to enter ; if not, they were not to be offended, but 
to go in peace and good will from house to house, until they 
should be invited to remain. But he said, that if any town 
refused to admit them, as this village of Samaria had done, 
the}" were to speak aloud, and say, " In testimony that we 
claim nothing of yours, we wipe off the dust of your streets 
from our feet. But what we have to impart, we give you 
notwithstanding. We give you the good news we bring. 
We are messengers of good tidings to you. Ye may drive 
us away from your gates ; but ye cannot drive away the 
kingdom of God, which is now drawing very nigh." 

Having received these directions, the thirty-five pairs 
departed. And after a few days they returned full of jo}', 
and testified that they had been gladly received, and also 
that their faith had enabled them to cure the sick, and even 
to cast out demons. 

And Jesus was greatly moved, because he saw that the 
power he had in himself to heal and to bless men. he could 
also impart to others. Thus the good done might be multi- 
plied without end, and be transmitted from one to another. 
And so his spirit could pass into the minds even of the most 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 307 

ignorant and humble. "Behold! " he cried, "I see Satan 
falling from heaven. Now his power is broken. I thank 
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast not 
bestowed these gifts upon the wise and the learned, but that 
these divine truths can be seen by those who are only babes 
in the knowledge of this world." Then, turning to us, he 
said, "As God giveth all things freely to me, I give freely to 
you ; and as ye have freely received, so freely give. Ye are 
all sharers of this great gift of being sons of God. The 
world knoweth nothing of this great joy. The Father and 
the Son know each other ; but the world knoweth not this 
trust of the child in his heavenly Father. Yet he who feels 
it in his soul can reveal it to others. I have revealed it to 
you : and ye may reveal it again to others, thus helping them 
to become sharers of your joy." 

Afterwards he added, "Let all who are burdened with 
woe, let all who are laden with sin, let all on whom the weight 
of law rests heavily, and who find it hard to do right, — let 
them all come to me, and I'will bring them to their Father, 
and make them his sons, and then they will have rest. When 
the soul is at rest, there is no more struggle. All burdens 
then are light, and all yokes are easy." 

And again he spoke, " I say unto you that even David and 
Isaiah were never able to behold that love of the Father 
which I have shown to you. You see what they longed to 
see, and were not able. The words which you hear from me, 
they longed to hear, and never 4ieard them." 

While he thus spoke, a heavenly joy beamed from his face. 
My fellow-disciples, who were babes in heart, shared his 
joy and peace : they also saw God as their Father and their 
Friend. But I, alas ! could not then attain to this faith. 
God was still far away from me. My mind still labored with 
many doubts. Though I had seen such wonderful works, 
and heard such wonderful words, I had no confidence, no 
assurance. I lived in a region where all was one " perhaps." 



308 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I thought my master good and great above all other men ; 
but still I asked, "Is he not self-deceived? He believes in 
God close by, nigh at hand ; but is God indeed so near ? 
He believes in the power of truth and love to conquer all 
things ; but are not force and skill the real masters of the 
world ? ' ' Therefore I could not believe : I could only wait. 
I said, "If he is stronger than his enemies, he is right: if 
they are strongest, he is wrong. 

But an event was soon to occur which would shake these 
doubts, and almost dissipate the mists which clouded my 
mind. 

We had been moving on, sometimes in Samaria, and some- 
times to the east of the Jordan. Wherever we went, the 
great works of the master were manifested. He spoke now 
with more authority, and did not hesitate to declare himself 
the true Christ foretold by all the great prophets, who was 
to reign by truth and love. He explained the nature of the 
kingdom, and showed how it would embrace all mankind. 
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be wor- 
shipped throughout the whole earth ; the law of works taught 
by Moses would be fulfilled by the law of love ; the whole 
Jewish nation would be the prophets of this faith, and teach 
it through all the world ; with love for God would be joined 
the love of man ; all kinds of selfishness and cruelty would 
be conquered ; and the long-predicted time arrive, when the 
sword should be beaten into a ploughshare, and wars should 
cease throughout the earth. 

All this, as I repeat it, seems like a mere dream ; but, as 
he described it, it was a coming certainty. This vast hope 
rested on no illusion, but on knowledge. His inspiration 
was not the fitful vision of a seer carried into future times 
by some ecstatic emotion : it was the clear knowledge of one 
who saw the present and futm'e at once, who was hurried 
away by no delusion. He knew men well, — knew all the 
hindrances to be overcome. He understood the weakness 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 309 

and wickedness, the selfishness and mdifference, of the world ; 
but beneath all, and around all, and above all, he saw the 
providence of God, leading all events forward to the end 
prepared for before the foundation of the world. 

The master's foresight was insight. He looked into actual 
facts, and in them discovered the seeds of the future. He 
never spoke from conjecture. He said, " We speak that we 
do know." Once he said that he was born and came into 
the world to bear witness to the truth. He wag sure that 
God had sent him for this end. He always spoke of himself 
as being sent. 

A common saying of his was, " The hour cometh, and 
now is." He saw what was coming because he saw what 
was already here. As when one sees an acorn, he can fore- 
see the oak, and can say, ''The oak cometh, and now is," 
so Jesus saw in the present the seed of the future. Thus he 
said, " The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worship- 
pers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth." In his 
own intimate fellowship with the Father, he saw, as already 
present, the true prayer which all men should at last pray. 
At another time he said, " The hour cometh, and now is, 
when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the 
Son of man, and come forth ; the good rising up into life, 
the evil rising up into judgment." The power of truth in 
his soul was already doing this work. He saw men already 
coming up out of the graves of sin and stupor, either into 
a higher life, or into a sight of their own sins, which was 
also an ascent to something higher. He knew that this 
power of truth was able to do the same work for all man- 
kind, and would do so. 

That he saw the future because it was already here, con- 
cealed in the present, appears also from this, that he re- 
buked the teachers and leaders for not being able to discern 
the signs of the spiritual world, as they could see the approach 
of rain or of heat by the face of the sky and earth. He 



310 THE LEGEND OF THOSIAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

therefore must have believed that it was possible for all men 
haying spiritual insight to foresee the coming of spiritual 
storms or calms. 

As I look back over all the teaching of the master, I 
perceive that there were some truths which he taught from 
the first, and taught alwaj^s. These he saw and knew by his 
power of communing with God, and of receiving his light. 
For some things he labored, but was not certain of the result. 
Other things he declared that neither he, nor the angels, nor 
any one, could know, but God alone. 

What he knew was, that God had sent him to save the 
world from its sins and evils, and to cure all the miseries 
of man here and hereafter. To him was given the power to 
forgive sin, to break every yoke, and to give perfect rest and 
peace to all mankind. 

He also knew that he would accomplish this by revealing 
to men that God was a Father of infinite tenderness, rejoi- 
cing whenever a sinner repents of his sin ; that the way to 
heaven was by love, forgiveness, truth, purity. He would 
lead mankind at last to overcome all evil by the power of 
good. 

This he knew. But that for which he hoped and labored 
was to convince his nation that he possessed this power, and 
so to make the whole Jewish nation a prophetic body, to 
convert the world to God. If they could take him whose 
whole power was in truth and love, as their Messiah, they 
would be able to believe in the omnipotence of spiritual 
power, and to renounce forever the hope of conquering by 
force. 

All his movements had been directed to this end, — his 
teaching in Galilee, and his conversations at Jerusalem ; and 
now he passed several months moving to and fro in Samaria 
and Peraea. He arrived in this region, finally leaving Gali- 
lee, about the end of the month Tisri. He remained there 
during the following months, — Marchesvan, Chisleu, Tebeth, 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 311 

Shebat, Adar, and the first part of Nisan, when he went 
up to the last Passover. During the month Chisleu was the 
Feast of Dedication, which he also attended. From that 
feast until the Passover, which was about a hundred days, 
he did not go to Jerusalem, but was near enough to that city 
to talk with many of the chief rulers and Pharisees, who 
went out to see him. In all these conversations he showed 
them his high design, and exhorted them to renounce for- 
ever the Messiah of force and worldly wisdom, and to accept 
God's true Messiah, who would rule the world by truth and 
love ; for it was the Father's good pleasure to give the king- 
dom to him. 

But what confused our minds was, that while he spoke 
with certainty of his triumph, and of being manifested as 
the Son of God and the King of Israel, he also often spoke 
of being killed by his enemies. This we could not under- 
stand then, though we do now. 

While he knew that he would be certainly manifested as 
the Son of God and the Saviour of the whole world, he was 
not blind to the danger, suffering, and death which would 
intervene. If he failed of convincing and converting the 
Jewish rulers, he would be put to death by them. And he 
saw the hardness of their hearts so clearly, that he was 
almost certain that his triumph could come only after his 
death. 

Thus, though he told us that he came to give us his perfect 
peace within, he also said that he had not come to bring 
peace, but a sword, and to set the father against the son, and 
the daughter against the mother. He told Peter that he would 
build his kelilah or community on him, but afterward saw 
that Peter would deny him three times in one evening. He 
was sure of his coming to be the true King and Judge of 
the earth. But he foretold long wars, and many evils and 
woes which would intervene. He foretold that his disciples 
would be persecuted, and put to death, and that, too, by 



312 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

righteous men, who would think to please God in doing so. 
Not blinded b}^ his hopes, he saw all the evil around him, yet 
foresaw the final good. 

Another thing which we could not understand was this. 
All the time he taught in Galilee, he had been making the 
people ready to take him for their King ; and now he had 
been doing the same thing in the coasts of Judaea, and 
around the Jordan. We saw how all the people were pre- 
pared to take him for the Christ. He also spoke more 
openly, both to the Jews and the rulers, of his being sent 
by God to be the leader of the people in the new age. But 
while he made all this preparation to begin his work as the 
Christ, as though he were sure that the nation would receive 
and follow him, he yet told us that he was to die. This was 
all very unintelligible to us. 

I now think that the reason why we could not understand 
him was this, that his mind was too large to be understood 
by our smaller minds. He was like one who stands on the 
topmost peak of a great mountain, and sees below him on 
every side hills and lakes, and forests and cities, and the 
far-off sea. He knows where they all are, how near to each 
other and to him. But we were like those who stand in a 
low valley, and know that thiere are cities and forests and 
ocean somewhere, but do not know their distances or direc- 
tion. 

To most men, every question is like a plane, which has two 
opposite surfaces, — two sides only, and no more. To every 
such question we have only to say " Yes," or "No." But 
to him every question was like a globe, with an infinite num- 
ber of sides, and he saw them all. Thus it was not possible 
that we should understand him, though we could trust in him, 
and follow him ; and, the more faithfully we followed him, 
the more did oui' own horizon also enlarge, and our own 
vision extend. 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 313 

While we were thus journeying from town to town in the 
neighborhood of the Jordan, sometimes in the coasts of 
Judaea, or the borders of Samaria, there came one day a 
messenger, running, as though bearing news of importance. 
When he came near, he bowed himself, and said, ' ' Which is 
the prophet of Nazareth? " And we all turned toward Jesus. 
Then the messenger said, " I bear evil tidings : I come from 
the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem. Two sisters are 
there, named Martha and Mary, and they sent me to seek 
thee, to say, ' Behold, Lazarus our brother is sick, and about 
to die ; but only come thou unto him, and he will revive and 
live.' " Then Jesus bent his face toward the ground, and 
sat long in silence, while the messenger stood, and waited for 
an answer. At last he lifted up his e3^es, and said, "Re- 
turn to Mary and Martha, and say that this sickness is not 
unto death, but to the glory of God, that the Son of God 
may be glorified thereby." And the messenger speedily 
departed, being the bearer of glad tidings. 

This family of a brother and two sisters was much be- 
loved by Jesus ; and they loved him greatly, each in a differ- 
ent way. Often we see much difference in the character of 
brothers and sisters, even of those who have alwa3^s lived 
from childhood in the same house and under the same cir- 
cumstances. Lazarus the brother was grave and silent, full 
of faithfulness in all that he had to do. He never neglected 
any duty, and his soul went forth to all good things : there- 
fore Jesus greatly loved him. Martha was also full of good- 
ness, which went into all her daily work. She rose early, 
and prepared the meals, and kept the house in order, and 
was diligent until the evening, and thus had little time for 
other things. She was like the wheel of a mill, turned by 
water, always revolving in one place, and ready to turn the 
stones to grind corn. Her love went into her hands ; and in 
her was fulfilled the words of the prophet, saying, " Whoso- 
ever shall do these things shall live by them." But Mary 



314 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYJnJS. 

loved to meditate,, and to think of all God's works and his 
ways, and she longed to draw near to the Infinite Friend. 
Her heart burned within her with this strong desire ; and when 
she worked on the tasks of women, with the distaff, preparing 
the clothing for the household, her thoughts soared lilve a 
bird high in the air. And in her was fulfilled that other say- 
ing, that " man doth not live by bread only, but by every 
word that cometh forth out of the mouth of God." 

Once before this time, on a visit to a feast, we came to 
Bethany to pass the day with the brother and his sisters. 
And, as there were many of our company, Martha hastened 
to prepare the supper, and had much to do. Meantime Mary 
came to the master, and asked him many questions about the 
kingdom of God and the love of the Father. For she said, 
" The prophet is here who alone knows these things, and can 
answer such questions. This may be the only time when I 
can receive the light I need : let me, therefore, think well of 
what I wish to know, and let not this great season pass by 
without use." And she sat at the master's feet, and listened 
to his words. Meantime Martha was perplexed with many 
cares, and she had much to do. Moreover, she desu-ed to 
have something better than usual for the master and his dis- 
ciples. And being much troubled she came, and called Mary 
to help her ; but Mary, wishing to hear more of what Jesus 
was saying, replied, " In a moment, dear sister ; wait a little 
while, and I will come." And Martha said, "How can I 
wait? I also would gladly listen to the master ; but then who 
will prepare the supper?" And at last she came to Jesus, 
and said, " Ought not my sister to help me? " The master 
then gave to her and to the other disciples this lesson : he 
told us that at ever}^ moment there was one duty nearer than 
all others, which should be done first. Only one thing is 
needful at any one time. If j^ou do that one thing, you 
need not be disturbed and anxious about the rest. Sufficient 
unto the day is its good and its evil ; sufficient unto each 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 315 

moment is its work. " Tell me, then, Martha," said he, 
' ' which is the one thing needful now ? ' ' 

And Martha replied, " The needful thing for me, and I 
think also for my sister, is to prepare the supper ; for there 
are many to eat, and much is to be done." 

"Tell me, Mary," said he, " what dost thou think the one 
thing needful ? ' ' 

And Mary answered, and said, "Food is needful for the 
body, but food for the soul is more needful. If Martha 
would come and listen with me to thy words, the supper, 
indeed, would be late, and there would be less of it on the 
board. Yet no one then would go away hungry. Therefore 
I think the one thing needful, first, is to listen to thy words : 
afterward it will be needful to prepare food." 

And Jesus smiled, and said to Martha, " We will let Mary 
keep the good part which she hath chosen. And thou also, 
Martha, shalt come and feed thy soul with bread from heaven. 
Earthly food only satisfies for a time, and then a man must 
eat again ; but he who hath eaten and drunk the bread and 
water of heaven, which I can give him, hath no need of 
eating or drinking again, for the food remains in him to com- 
fort his soul always." Thus both Martha and Mary sat with 
us to listen to the teaching of the master ; and afterward 
both arose, and prepared the food. 

When the news came of the sickness of Lazarus, and 
Jesus returned the answer that he would not die, but recover, 
we were glad ; for now it would not be necessary to go so 
near to Jerusalem, where the master's enemies were many 
and strong, and had only lately sought to kill him. And the 
reason of their attempt was this. 

While we were traversing the borders of Samaria and 
Judaea, and the coasts of Jordan, the Feast of Dedication 
had come. This lasted eight days, and was a feast of 
thanksgiving. The master went to it, and spoke, as usual, 
of the coming kingdom as the reign of truth and of love. 



316 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

One da}' when he was teaching in the Court of the Gen- 
tiles, under the great portico of Solyma, there approached 
him a body of men sent by the Sanhedrim, who asked him 
to say distinctly whether he were Ghi'ist the King, or not. 
" AVhy keep us in doubt?" said they. " AVe are ready to 
believe, if thou plainly tell us that thou art our King. Prove 
that thou art ' the Son of David ; ' show us that El-jah has 
come as thy forerunner ; do some mighty miracle as a sign 
that thou art sent by Yahveh. Give us these three proofs 
which the tradition requu-es, that thou art the Coming One 
sent by God, and we will believe in thee. AVe hear of won- 
derful works done elsewhere, but thou hast done none here. 
We ought not to believe in thee without evidence, and it is 
unjust to ask us to do so. Therefore we say, if thou art 
the Christ, prove this to us : if thou art not the Christ, say so 
plainly, and calm the minds of the people." 

Thus spoke the deputation ; and it sounded so reasonable, 
that all the people applauded loudly, and looked to Jesus, 
hoping that he would give the desired evidence, and that all 
the nation would then unite to receive him. AVe also cher- 
ished a like hope, and waited to hear his reply. 

I shall give the answer of Jesus, as well as I can. in my 
own words. He told them that the proofs they asked for 
would not convince them if they received them. The only 
real evidence that he came from God was that he lived and 
spoke and acted in the spmt of God. His works and life 
were the true evidence. This evidence was always before 
their eyes, and yet they did not see it. They did not see 
it, because their minds were not in hannony with his. The 
true faith, he said, is not bom of reasoning or argument, 
but grows out of sympathy of heart and soul. Just as sheep 
know the voice of their shepherd, and do not need any other 
evidence, so those who are inwardly in harmony with the 
teaching of a prophet will follow him. Unless ye have 
this sympathy with my purpose, my methods, my spirit, all 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 317 

the proofs I can give will not bring j^ou "to me. Ye might 
be forced by a mighty miracle to admit that I am the Christ ; 
but ye would be inwardly hostile to me, inwardly at war with 
me : therefore, instead of giving you these proofs, I am 
seeking to convince you that my purpose is one with God's 
purpose, that the truth I teach is God's truth. If ye see 
that, then, in following me, ye follow God ; then ye will 
be full of spiritual life ; then nothing can separate you from 
me, or pluck you out of my hand ; then ye will never see 
death, never feel its sting, but be filled full of immortality ; 
then, in following me, ye will follow my Father, for I and 
my Father are one ; and ye shall be one with God, as I am 
one with God. 

Thus he spake, and with such power, that many said, 
"Verily, verily, it is true : the prophet is right. He who is 
convinced by wonders, by genealogies and portents, is out- 
wardly convinced, but is inwardly an infidel. He who is 
convinced inwardly by his conscience and heart is bound to 
his faith by a chain of iron." 

Thus many spoke around me, discussing the matter among 
themselves. But those of Ben-Gamlah's part shouted aloud, 
"He blasphemes; he makes himself one with God: stone 
the blasphemer!" And many took up stones, and were 
about to hurl them at the prophet. But he stepped calmly 
toward them, as if they had in their hands nothing but grass, 
and said in a tone full of tenderness, " I have done good to 
many of you ; I have healed your sick ; I have cast out your 
demons: are ye about to stone me for this? Simeon, I 
cured your child: wilt thou stone me for that? Barnabas, 
I took the sin out of your soul by showing you the love of 
God : wilt thou stone me for that ? I have driven away the 
demons that possessed and tormented many of you, and have 
made your disturbed souls tranquil : will ye stone me for 
that ? I am ready to be stoned ; but say, first, for which of 
these things ye stone me." 



318 THE LEGEND OF THOilAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

While he spoke, a great shame came over the multitude. 
The stones fell from the hands of many ; and some began to 
shed tears, remembering his goodness. But the leaders were 
all the more indignant, and cried out, " We do not stone thee 
for these things, but for blasphemy. Thou art only a man ; 
and thou dost say that thou and thy Father are one : so thou 
dost make thyself equal with God. ' ' 

Jesus said, "I and my Father are indeed one. God is 
truth and love ; and, if we enter into his truth and love, we 
become one with him. All who love God are one with him. 
They dwell in him, and he dwells in them ; yet this does not 
make them equal with God. I pray dail}^ for my disciples 
that they may be one with me, as I am one with the Father. 
But this will not make them equal with the Father. 

"Search the Scriptm-e. It is written in the Psalms, 'I 
said ye are gods, and all sons of the Most High.' Of whom 
doth David speak ? Of those in the Book of Moses, where 
the judges who sit in the place of God, administering justice 
daily in his name, are called Elohim, or gods. The Scrip- 
ture calleth those God to whom the word of God comes : if, 
then, the word of God hath come to me, I might, without 
breaking the Scripture, call myself God. I call myself the 
Son of God, because God hath filled me full of his love, and 
I am his child, dwelling always in his bosom ; and he hath 
sent me to make you also his children, his happy children, 
dwelling always in his bosom with me. I desire that ye 
may see this ; for only when ye see this to be true, can ye 
really believe in me. Consider my works, look at what I do, 
— and yet I do nothing of myself, — but believe the power 
which worketh in me and through me, and doeth all that I 
am doing. Believe the goodness of God which ye see work- 
ing in me. So ye will understand that I dwell in the Father, 
and that the Father dwelleth in me, and that, because of this, 
I am the Christ and the Son of God." 

When he said this, many of those who were pure in heart 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 319 

were drawn toward him by a certain heavenly influence which 
went from him. He himself had said, "No one can come 
to me, unless the Father draw him." Those, therefore, 
who were not ready to be drawn to him, because filled with 
passion and prejudice, were the more indignant, and sought 
again to raise a tumult, and called on the guards of the tem- 
ple to seize him, that he might be punished for blasphemy. 
The temple guards came toward us, and I thought surely that 
he would be taken. But again his friends closed about him, 
I leading the way ; and we escaped from the temple and city, 
carrying him in our midst. We made our way out through 
the temple gate called Shusan, which was near by, and 
hastened through the streets till we came to the gate of the 
city which was called the Sheep-gate, the guards having been 
sent to keep watch at the Water-gate. Thus we avoided 
them, and crossed the Valley of the Kedron,-and, passing the 
night at Bethany, went over the Jordan the next day, and 
came to Bethabara, and there remained. And in this neigh- 
borhood we were when the news came to us- of the sickness 
of Lazarus, of which I have before spoken. 

Now, when Jesus had said that the sickness of Lazarus 
was uQt unto death, we were all comforted gTeatl}^ since 
Lazarus was dear to us all. He was one who performed 
many acts of kindness, and that cheerfully. 

Much astonished were we, when, two days after, Jesus 
said to us, " Let us go into Judaea again." We remonstrated 
with him, saying, "It is only a little while since the Jews 
sought to kill thee, and dost thou go thither again?" But 
he answered, "There are but twelve hours in the day: 
one must walk in the day, while there is light by which to 
see." Then he added, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I 
go that I may awaken him out of sleep." One of our num- 
ber said, that, if Lazarus slept well, he must be recovering, 
and therefore it was not necessary for the master to risk his 
life in going so near the stronghold of his enemies ; for, as 



320 THE LEGEND OF TH03IAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

there was now no festival, his own friends would not be 
there to defend him. Then he said plainly, "Lazarus is 
dead ; and I am glad for 3^our sakes that I was not there, 
because ye will be led to believe more fully in me and in 
God. But now let us go to him." We looked at each other 
with terror, feeling sure tliat the Jews would seize this occa- 
sion to destroy the master, and that we must share his fate. 
But it seemed to me better to die with him than to remain 
behind. This I said : and we determined to go with him. 

It was on the second day, that, having crossed the Jordan, 
we ascended by the steep road which took us up toward the 
town of Bethany ; which, being interpreted, is The House 
of Dates. An orchard of the date-palm grows in the little 
valley where we had passed so mau}^ evenings while the 
feasts were held at Jerusalem. Here, as in a nest, lay 
the village ; and as we drew near, and approached the house 
of Lazarus, we heard the sound of the mourners, who sent 
forth from time to time pathetic wails. It was the custom 
among our people to bewail the loss of friends during seven 
days, and sometimes longer. Those who were the friends 
of the family would come and sit with them, and utter these 
wailing cries : this was thought to be becoming and right. 
Our master, who never loved these customs, from which 
the meaning had departed, sat down under one of the trees, 
at a distance from the house, while some one ran to tell the 
sisters that he had come. Martha, who was outside of 
the house, attending to some household duty, heard of it, 
and came at once to Jesus. She burst into a flood of tears, 
and cried out, "Master, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died." Then she looked up through her 
tears, and said, " I know that even now whatsoever thou 
wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." For she had heard 
of some of his wonderful works, — how at Nain he had 
raised the son of a widow whom they were just about to 
bury ; and also the story concerning the daughter of Jairus. 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 321 

Therefore she greatly hoped that he might ask the Lord to 
give back her brother. And the master looked at her with 
eyes full of a heavenly light, and said in low tones, which 
yet we all heard, "Thy brother shall arise." And she, 
confused in her mind, answered, "I know that he will arise 
in the great rising-up, at the end of the age." But Jesus 
said what I did not understand, and hardly understand now. 
For he said that he was himself both the inward life and the 
power of outward ascent from death into a higher life. He 
added, also, that there was no death, and never would be 
death, to those who had faith in him. And I think, that, in 
saying this, he meant to make her see that God is with us 
now, and that we are not to look forward to some distant 
rising-up of the dead. Rather we should believe that all 
who have the faith which the master gives us rise noio above 
all thought of death. Death becomes to all of us who live in 
him only a sleep. We pass out of this life into a higher life 
after a brief sleep : this I have since learned. But what he 
said was then very obscure to me, as it was to Martha. For, 
when he asked her if she believed it, she simply replied that 
she believed him to be the Christ of God, and went to call 
her sister, who might be better able to understand his words. 

But to us, my children, the master has become both the 
life and the rising-up. The life we now live we live by our 
faith in him ; and by the power of this life we rise up every 
day out of body into soul, out of death into higher life. We 
are not now hoping for some future resurrection of the body, 
as we once did, with the other Jews, but are renewed in- 
wardly every day, while the body perishes. The great love 
which our master has inspired for God and man, for duty 
and goodness, and for himself as the best of all friends, — 
this love renews our life at every hour. 

As soon as Mary heard that the master had come, she 
rose up quickly, and left the house. All the friends who 
had been sitting by her, and whose wailing cries we had 



322 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMTS. 

heard, arose and followed her, believing that she wished 
them to utter their lamentations with her at the grave. 
When Mary came where Jesns was. she suddenly fell at his 
feet, weeping, and said to him, '-Master, my sister and I 
have both believed, and have said to each other, that, if 
thou hadst been here, our brother had not died." She burst 
into tears again ; and the Jewish women who were with her 
began also to utter their wild pathetic cr3\ 

Then we saw something we could not understand. Jesus 
also became troubled. A cloud passed over his face, and 
he groaned deeply. Afterward he asked where the body 
was laid. They replied, ''Master, come and see." He 
stood still and wept. Then the Jews said, "Behold, how 
he loved him I ' ' 

But since then I have often questioned why the master 
wept, when he knew that soon he would recall his friend 
to life. I think perhaps it was his sympathy with human 
sorrow. Possibly at that moment there came over his mind 
the sense of all the sufferings of the world, all the bereave- 
ment and sorrow, all the pangs of body and soul which men 
suffer every da}^ His heart was so large, that it bore the 
sorrows of mankind. And thus was fulfilled the saying of 
Isaiah the prophet: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and 
carried our sorrows." Often, in like manner, we all feel; 
for, when we suffer, it is not merely our own pain which 
grieves us, but the feeling that it is alwaj^s so, that there 
is no unalloyed happiness here. It is the dark shadow of 
universal evil, and not the particular pain, which weighs most 
heavily on the heart. ' ~^^ 

'When Jesus came to the sepulchre it was a cave, and a 
stone at the mouth. Then he said, " Take away the stone." 

And when they had taken away the stone, Jesus prayed 
aloud ; yet not so much asking for help as thanking God for 
the power already given. He seemed to be talking earnestly 
with God, thanking him beforehand for the great wonder 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. ' 323 

that he was to do, and especially because it would make 
so many believe that God had sent him, and that thus they 
would accept the Messiah of truth and love, instead of the 
Messiah of worldly wisdom and earthly power. 

While he was thus speaking, a great silence of expecta- 
tion fell on all. The mourners ceased their cry, the sisters 
leaned eagerly forward, looking into the tomb. All was still 
therein ; no rustle, no sound. 

Then Jesus cried out with a voice penetrating and yet 
tender, "Lazarus, come forth!" 

Something began to stir in the tomb ; something white 
appeared in the opening. Presently he that was dead stag- 
gered forward. He was so wrapped and encumbered with 
the grave-clothes around him, that he could scarcely move. 
But such amazement fell on us all, that no one went near him 
to help him, until Jesus, who alone was calm, said tranquilly, 
" Loose him, and let him go." 

This wonderful work was seen by so many Jews who were 
present, having come from Jerusalem, that it made a mighty 
commotion in the minds of men. The whole city was moved, 
and the enemies of Jesus were greatly troubled and per- 
plexed. 

It was at this time that Jesus made an appeal to the 
leaders of the Separate Society, endeavoring to show them 
the evil which was corrupting their inmost life. We were in 
this town of Bethany, near Jerusalem ; and the leaders of this 
society came in great numbers to behold and speak with him. 
One of them, who was a friend of the master, asked him to 
dine with him. In the court within the house the tables were 
spread. It was open to the air and light above, and many 
were collected to see and hear him. Water was handed to 
all for the ablutions. Before eating, each, according to the 
rules, carefully poured it upon his hands, with much solem- 
nity ; for this was a part of our religion. At last it was 
brought to the host, who also made the necessary ablutions. 



324 THE LEGENT) OF TH03IAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Then it was handed to Jesus, the chief guest, that the cere- 
mony might be complete. But Jesus refused the water, and 
would perform no ablution. • All who saw this were aston- 
ished ; some looked grieved, and others offended. The host 
also appeared greatly grieved, and said, '-Master, are not 
all things purified with water? Why, then, refuse this rite 
of sacred purity ? ' ' 

Then Jesus spoke, with words full of power, yet also full 
of gentleness and sadness. He told them that what was at 
first innocent, as a sign of pm-ity, had taken the place of the 
true inward purity, — that of the soul. He told them there 
was a deep disease, which was corroding the heart of their 
society, and threatening ruin to themselves and the nation 
whom they led. '' AVoe. woe. to you! " he cried. •• AVoe, 
woe, to you, Pharisees ! woe to the people, woe to us all, if 
you do not repent, and change your hearts and lives I " 

His words were so solemn, his voice so penetrating, that 
a thrill of awe went through the company present. There 
was silence for a moment ; then the chief of the Pharisees 
rose, and said, '• What is this dreadful disease of which thou 
speakest ? ' ' 

The master looked at him. and answered, " It is the disease 
of hypocrisy. It infects all ye do. What ye do is done to 
be seen of men. Ye wash your hands to be seen of men ; 
ye pray, standing in the streets, to be seen of men ; ye 
make broad your phylacteries, that men may see you, and 
say, ' How holy are these people ! ' Ye carefully pay tithes 
of every little herb that gi'ows in your garden, that men 
may say, 'How conscientious are these people, not willing 
to omit any duty I ' This love of the praise of men hath cor- 
rupted your souls inwardly till no truth is left therein. Out- 
wardly is show and ceremony, but within is death. Look 
in, and ye will see how empty ye are. Ye are like the 
marble monuments which ye have raised over the graves of 
the prophets : they are beautiful without, but foul within. 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 325 

Ye have grown hard in this trodden road of use, and ye 
will kill the prophets the Lord sends you to-day, while ye 
are building monuments to those whom your fathers killed." 

Jesus went on thus, speaking to them in words of deep 
earnestness ; and yet he seemed filled with an unutterable 
sorrow while he spoke. He yearned toward these men, long- 
ing to be to them the good physician, who must first show 
the whole evil and danger of the disease before he can cure 
it. He told them of the woe which was sure to come to them 
when their eyes were opened, and they saw how they had 
made then- hearts hard against the truth. 

" Woe, woe, to you ! " he said, — " woe and sorrow ; for 
ye who should teach the people justice, mercy, and faith, 
only teach them to make the outside of the cup and platter 
clean. Ye strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel ; ye love 
what is highest in the eyes of men, — titles and places and 
honors. Ye love to be called master, when there is but 
one master over us all. Ye love to have men call you 
doctor and father, when we have one Father, who is our 
Father in heaven. This is the evil which first corrupts your 
souls, and then, through you, the soul of the whole people, 
till all things lean the wrong way, toward ruin. Open your 
eyes, and see the signs of the times. The hour of destruc- 
tion approaches, and is already at hand. O proud Jerusalem, 
thou art tottering to thy fall ! O stately temple, thou art 
already a heap of ruins ! But it is not too late to turn now, 
if ye, leaders of the people, will only repent, and follow the 
truth which is in your midst." 

Something like this he said, as well as I can remember. 
And a trembling ciime over the hearers, yet some faces 
gathered blackness. And one, who was a scribe, a teacher 
of the law, answered, and said, "Master, in speaking thus, 
thou reproachest our whole profession also ; for we teach the 
people how to follow the law, and explain it to them : there- 
fore, if ruin is at hand, we cannot have taught it to them 
aright." 



326 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

And Jesiis auswerecl, " Truly thou hast said it. Ye make 
the yoke of the law heav}', when ye should make it light ; ye 
multiply mioute commands ; ye bind your lives with rules, 
till nothing is left for love and joy. Ye do not help the peo- 
l^le to carry their burdens, nor bring them to see the love of 
their Father : ye show him to them as one who always com- 
mands, and will be obeyed, who says, ' Go, do this ; ' ' Go, 
do that ; ' but not as one who says, ' Come, my children, 
come and trust in my goodness and my love.' So did not 
the prophets teach. They taught that the Lord was weary 
of the multitude of sacrifices, and wished not for the blood of 
bullocks and lambs, but for mercy and justice, pity for the 
fatherless, kindness to the widow. And ye go out of Jeru- 
salem and build marble monuments to the prophets who 
taught thus, and then return to teach otherwise. This is 
hypocrisy and falsehood. The people cannot read the words 
of the prophets : ye are set to teach them this knowledge. 
The key to it is in your hands ; and ye lock the door, and 
take away the key. Ye bury the soul of the prophets with 
their bodies in these tombs on the side of the mountain. Ye 
are full of zeal, and compass sea and land to make proselytes 
to the law of Moses. Ye do not teach them the spirit of 
Moses, but washings, and fastings, and sabbaths, and meats ; 
so that ye put death, and not life, into their hearts. Are 
ye not blind guides, teaching vain distinctions, and laying 
stress on unmeaning rules. Ye say a man may swear by 
the temple, and need not keep his oath ; he may swear by 
the altar, and swear falsely, yet do no wrong : but if he 
take an oath by the gold of the temple, or the gift on the 
altar, then he must keep it. Thus ye ^each men how they 
may swear falsely, when ye ought to teach them that when 
they say ' Yes ' or ' No,' their ' Yes ' should be really ' Yes,' 
and their ' No ' really ' No.' Truly ye harden the hearts of 
the people, and teach them to worship God in falsehood. 
So, at last, the voice of truth is hateful to you. If God 



ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. 327- 

shall send to yon prophets and teachers of his truth, ye will 
be angry with them, and liill them ; ye will drive tlieni out 
of your synagogues. If Isaiah should come back, and say 
to you what he said to j^our fathers, je would scourge him 
and slay him. The same spirit of pride is in you which has 
persecuted all the teachers of God's truth, and thus ye make 
yourselves guilty of all the righteous blood which has been 
shed from the beginning of the world until this day. All 
the woe and misery which that innocent blood demands will 
come upon this generation. The suffering draws near : the 
black cloud is now hanging over Jerusalem. . O Jerusalem, 
sacred city of God, remorseless city, which has resisted 
God's truth, and stoned his prophets ; woe to thee, woe ! 
But how have I tried to save thee ! how patiently have I 
taught in the courts of the Lord's house ! how I have sought 
to shelter thee from the wrath to come ! how I have endeav- 
ored to cover thee with the wings of my love ! I might have 
saved thee from this dreadful woe, but thou wouldest not. 
I shall not enter Jerusalem again until the day when I shall 
hear the people chant the psalm of praise to the Messiah of 
God." 

Thus he spake, looking into the future. And a great fear 
came over all who heard ; so that they arose in silence, and 
went their way. 



328 THE LEGEND OF TH031AS, CALLED DIDYJIUS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE LAST JOURXEY TO JERUSALE:\r, NARRATIVE CONTINUED. 

Ye may suppose, my children, that, after this wonderful 
event of the return to life of Lazarus, all my doubts would 
have come to an end, and that I should then have felt certain 
of the nearness of God, and that my master, Jesus, was sent 
by him. The event made a deep impression on my mind, 
but it did not convince me. I argued thus, "What we call 
death is not such an impassable gulf as we suppose. It 
seems, that, under certain conditions, one who hath actually 
passed the boundary ma}'- return to this life again. The 
vital power of a living man may attach itself to the soul 
which hath left the body, and draw it back again. We know 
nothing of the connection of soul and body. We have no 
reason to disbelieve in the return to life, except that it hath 
never been certainly known to take place. If we see it take 
place, then the only reason for disbelieving it disappears. 
There are no physical or anatomical reasons for disbeliev- 
ing, only this absence of experience ; that is, our ignorance 
whethei' any such revival of life hath taken place. In the 
present instance there can be no doubt that Lazarus was 
dead. He might indeed be in a trance, for trances may last 
four days ; and a trance in which there is no perceptible 
movement of the lungs or heart for eighty or ninety hours 
is the same thing as death. What difference is there be- 
tween them ? ' ' 

Thus, though I was willing to believe that Lazarus had 
actually returned from death to life, I saw in this event only 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 329 

a proof of the exceptional physical or vital force of the 
master, shown in a less degree by his curing other diseases. 
It was the highest example of the power of soul over body, 
of spirit over matter, of vital forces over physical atoms. 
God was no nearer to me in this event than in the unfolding 
of buds and seeds in the spring. Raising one dead man to 
life is certainly not so great a miracle as raising a whole dead 
world to life. Thus I found it impossible to conquer my 
obstinate unbelief. God and immortality were no nearer 
than before ; and I was seized with a new despair, instead of 
a new hope. The black shadow of doubt seemed to settle 
down on my soul more darkly than ever. I then saw how 
little influence any outward event, however wonderful, has 
on mental and moral convictions ; and I understood the truth 
of the saying of Jesus in one of his stories, "If they hear 
not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded 
though one should rise from the dead." 

But, though this strange event had so slight an influence 
on my mind, it produced a vast change in the attitude of the 
Jews in Jerusalem. It had been the fashion in the great 
city to ridicule our prophet and his disciples. Men thought 
it absurd for a prophet to come from Galilee, or that any 
thing good could proceed from Nazareth. But, as soon as 
this history of Lazarus was noised abroad, a change came 
over the city. Men stood in groups talking about it, and 
declaring that Jesus was certainly the King who was to 
come. Even in the Sanhedrim, and among the priests of the 
temple, many declared that they would follow him as soon 
as he openly claimed the office. Dark threats began to be 
uttered against the chief priests and the Pharisees who were 
opposed to him. "This is always the way," men said. 
" They build tombs to the prophets who lived five hundred 
years ago ; but, as soon as God sends us a now prophet, they 
try to kill him. But they shall not kill Jesus, even if we 
have to pull down the temple over their heads." Thus the 



330 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMU5. 

city was full of ferment. And the enemies of Jesus became 
much alarmed, and did not dare to speak openly against him ; 
but privately, as I afterward heard, they discussed the plan 
of seizing Lazarus by night, smothering him, so that no sign 
of violence should appear, and putting him secretly in the 
sepulchre where he was before. Then they meant to deny 
that any such wonder had been done, and intended to invite 
those who believed in it to choose a number of persons to 
examine the sepulchre, and see if his body were not still 
there. Such was the plan, but I suppose they found it too 
difficult to execute. Nevertheless, they took among them- 
selves a resolution, confirming it with an oath, that Jesus 
should be put to death as soon as they could find a way to 
accomplish their purpose. 

Howbeit, great numbers came from Jerusalem to see the 
prophet. He had again retired, and gone to the neighbor- 
hood of the city called Ephraim. This was a day's journey 
from Jerusalem. Hundreds of persons came to him there 
every day, asking him questions. One day there arrived a 
body of Pharisees, who requested to see him, and talk with 
him. They were led to him by some of his disciples, of 
whom a large number watched near him day and night, for 
fear of the Jews; though he himself said, "My time has 
not yet come. If I die, it will be in Jerusalem." However, 
we brought these Pharisees to him, and this conversation 
took place. 

Pharisees. — "Master, how soon will the kingdom of 
God come ? and what shall be the signs thereof ? ' ' 

Jesus. — " The kingdom of God cometh without any dis- 
play or any outward show. When it cometh, no man will 
be able to point to one place, and say, ' Here it is ; ' or to 
another place, and say, 'There it is.' When it cometh, it 
cometh within your soul, to be known, and not seen. The day 
of Christ will come as the lightning, which shines all round 
the sky at once, and you see it everywhere, — in one place 
and in all places." 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 331 

Pharisees. — " But when the Christ cometh, shall we not 
see him? Will he not be somewhere? " 

Jesus. — " You will see him, but not know him : you will 
seek him, but not find him. In that great coming there will 
be terror and anguish, and then you will wish for one of the 
days of the Son of man. But it will be too late. You reject 
the reign of peace, and you will have war. Then you will 
say, ' Would we had followed the Son of man ! ' That day 
will come without warning. Every one will be eating and 
drinking and marrying, without anxiety or dread. Then 
shall be the days of dreadful calamity, for you are per- 
mitting the hour which never returns to go by." 

So he talked with them every day. Once they asked 
questions about the law of marriage and divorce. They 
quoted the law of Moses, which allows a man to put away his 
wife by giving her a bill of divorce, called, in our tongue, a 
"Get." And there are many rules concerning the Gettin 
among the rabbis ; as, for example, by what messenger it 
may be sent, and how attested, and the like. Jesus said, 
' ' Let such divorces cease ; for the man and wife should 
keep together, and not be divorced." But they said, 
"Moses allowed it." Then he answered that there was 
so-mething before Moses, and higher than Moses ; and that 
was the eternal law of right, the law that was in the begin- 
ning, in the nature of man when God created him. He 
added, that Moses was obliged to give to the people, not 
absolute justice, but such a law as would be obeyed ; and so, 
because men's hearts were hard, he allowed this freedom of 
divorce. And I saw with wonder that Jesus elevated the 
law written in the human soul by the Creator above the law 
written on stone by Moses. 

Now Jesus began to tell us that he should go up to 
Jerusalem, to the Feast of the Passover. And we were 
amazed and afraid, knowing that the high priest (who was 
a kind of king, appointed by the Romans, with power to 



SS2 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

rule the nation) had determined, with the other priests and 
rulers, to put Jesus to death. Orders had been given that 
he should be seized and imprisoned, and all men were com- 
manded to betray his residence, wherever it might be. It 
is true that this arrest could not easily take place during the 
feast in the daytime, since the master was then always sur- 
rounded by a multitude of friends ; and an attempt to seize 
him would cause a tumult, which the Jewish rulers wished 
anxiously to avoid. Any serious uproar would be eagerly 
seized by the Romans as an excuse for destroying the self- 
government which remained to our people, and the Jewish 
rulers would be despoiled at once of their power ; but if 
they could find Jesus alone, or with only a few friends, they 
would not hesitate to make him a prisoner. Therefore, as I 
said, we were amazed and alarmed to hear him say that he 
should go up to Jerusalem. 

And there was much that confused us, also, in his way of 
speaking about what was to come to pass. He spoke with 
great confidence of immediately establishing the new king- 
dom of Israel. The world would be made new ; he should 
be seated on a glorious throne ; and we his missionaries 
should also have twelve thrones, each one of us ruling one 
of the tribes of our nation, and all subject to him, the 
supreme King. I, indeed, did not hear him sa}^ this, but it 
was told me by Matthew ; and I think that Matthew might 
have mistaken his language, as this was very different from 
his usual teaching. He might have said, "Ye shall be 
greater than kings, and shall rule the tribes of Israel by the 
power of my word." But I, as well as Peter, heard him 
sa}^, that we who followed him faithfully would receive a 
hundred-fold more than we renounced. So, indeed, we 
have, but not in outward power and possession, as wg then 
dreamed ; instead thereof we have received power to bring 
souls out of despair and death into life and peace. We have 
been made kings and priests of God, ruling in the king- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 363 

dom of truth. We see our Master coming in the clouds of 
heaven, amid the confusions of thought and dying beliefs, 
to be the King of the world, before whose majesty the 
highest minds must bow down. 

All my fellow-disciples were sure that the reign of our 
master would soon begin. Two of them, James and John, 
were impelled by their mother, a woman of much ambition, 
to secure beforehand the highest places under the new gov- 
ernment. Therefore they took an opportunity when he 
was alone, to ask him to promise them whatever they might 
desire. He told them to say what they wished. And, 
when they told their desire, he said, " Ye do not know what 
ye are asking. To be next to me in my kingdom means 
to drink a cup of bitterness such as ye cannnot imagine : 
it is to descend into the baptismal waters of an agony such 
as your souls do not understand. Are ye ready for this? " 
They answered, " We are ready." Then he said, as though 
speaking to himself, " Yes, truly, ye will drink of that cup, 
and be baptized with such a baptism ; but I have no power 
to say who shall come next to me in my work. God my 
Father can alone tell what souls shall be prepared for that 
honor. He will select them for it ; not I." 

One of our number heard this conversation, and told the 
others. We were all greatly indignant with James and John 
for seeking privately this advantage over the rest of us. 

Jesus, observing this jealousy in our minds, called us 
together, and said to us, " The way to become great in my 
kingdom differs from the way in which men become great 
in the kingdoms of this world, where each one tries to gain 
something from his neighbor. In my kingdom one becomes 
the greatest by helping and serving others. lie who doth 
the most service to man will come nearest to me, and be 
on my right hand ; for all that my Father giveth to me is 
given because I have made myself the servant of all man- 
kind. This is God's law for my kingdom : that whoever 



334 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMTS. 

wisheth to have must give ; whoever wisbeth to go up must 
be wilUng to go down ; wboever wisbeth to be served and 
helped must make himself the servant and helper of his 
brethren. Thus have I come, not to be waited on, and not 
to be served, but to serve others, and work for others. I 
come to give my life and all my powers to redeem men from 
slavery, and make them free. I make mj^self a servant, to 
ransom others from the service of sin." 

Having told us that he was going to Jerusalem to be 
made king, he also said that he was going to Jerusalem to 
be put to death. He was to come in the clouds, surrounded 
by angels, and to sit on his throne ; but he was to be killed 
by the rulers, and to rise on the third da3\ All this confused 
our minds. For how could he be killed, and be king at the 
same time ? And what did he mean by rising on the third 
day ? What third day ? 

We had been journejing for a short time on the east of 
the Jordan : and now we went down to the fords of that 
river, which were opposite to Jericho. The morning sun 
was shining on the waters of the river as they rushed spar- 
kling between their steep banks. But the stream at this place 
is not deep : and we were soon over, and ascended through 
the valley. The fragrance of balsam, which was cultivated 
for its costly perfume, filled the air. A vast forest of palms 
rose before us ; above them we saw the white, jagged sum- 
mits of the mountains of Judaea. Men were at work in the 
rich fields on either side, amid the corn ; or oratherins: fias and 
pomegranates ; or cutting the cane to make sugar. Horses 
and cattle were feeding, or lazily dozing in the shadows. 
Roses and oleanders, scarlet and yellow flowers, and all kinds 
of plants, grew on either side of our path.- Many pilgrims 
journeyed with us, and the rumor of the master's coming had 
gone before. As we approached Jericho, and saw the great 
castles built by Herod, — the fort called Cyprus, and the 
lofty tower Phasaelus, — a large company came forth to meet 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 335 

US. Many Romans and strangers were there, for this was 
almost a Roman city. As we entered the gate, the crov/ds 
filled the streets, gazing at the prophet, and covered the 
summit of the amphitheatre of stone which Herod had built 
for the shows of wild beasts and gladiators. Below the 
walls of the amphitheatre there grew a tall fig-tree. As we 
passed, we saw a man sitting on one of the lower branches, 
gazing at the master. Jesus looked up at him with a smile, 
and said, "Make haste, Zaccheus, and come down; for 
to-day I must abide at thy house." This man Zaccheus was 
a Roman publican, chief of the tax-gatherers, and a rich 
man. He had made his fortune by selling to other publi- 
cans the right to collect the tax on the balsam-crops of the 
valley ; and, as all the evil and hardship of such taxes is apt 
to be laid on the man who is the instrument, Zaccheus was 
disliked by the people. It was a rule of the Pharisees not 
to eat, nor even to speak, with the Roman tax-gatherers. 
Jesus had seen Zaccheus before, and knew him to be a 
man who had a longing in his heart for something better. 
Zaccheus was joyful at being thus chosen to receive Jesus, 
and gladly welcomed us to his home. When he had pre- 
pared a supper for us, and had also invited many of his 
friends to come in, he rose in the court where we were sitting 
to eat, and said, "Master, my heart is full of joy at thy 
great goodness in coming into my home. I wish to show my 
gratitude to God for this blessing : therefore I have deterr 
mined to give to the poor of this place every year half of all 
the money I receive. And, as I know that I have been 
sometimes unjust and oppressive, I now declare, that, if I 
have taken any thing from any man by a false accusation, 
I am ready to restore to him fourfold." I believe, that, 
before he said this, he had confessed to Jesus his sins, and 
had received pardon from on high, which filled his soul full 
of grateful love. Jesus was well pleased, and said, " Near 
this place John the Baptizer declared, that, if the Jewish 



336 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY3IUS. 

people Tvere faithless, God could take the stones from the 
bed of the Jordan, and make of them children of Abraham. 
God hath fulfilled this to-da3\ He hath taken thee, O Zac- 
cheus, from a people who are hard as stones, and made of 
thee a true child of Abraham." And in this act Jesus, in 
order to seek and save that which was lost, opposed both the 
prejudice of tlie people and the authority of the rulers. 

After remaininoj a few days in Jericho, and teachins; the 
people there, and healing a blind man, Jesus went on as far 
as Bethany. At this time he did not stay with Martha and 
Mary, but in the house of Simon, called the leper, whom he 
had before cured of his leprosy. Simon was a neighbor and 
friend of the two sisters, and both were there, and Lazarus 
also. 

I did not go in to the entertainment, but sat outside, 
beneath a tree. As I was looking at the clouds which drifted 
by, I suddenly became aware of a person coming near to me. 
Soon I perceived it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, whom 
I knew well. By her face I saw that something had hap- 
pened to her, and asked her what it was. 

She answered, " O Thomas ! a new fear hath darkened my 
joy. The master gave us back my brother : he hath lifted us 
all to God. How can we love him enough? how be grateful 
enough ? But he is in danger : his enemies lie in wait for 
him. I hear of- their threats. They say he shall not escape 
them this time. They are determined to kill him And I am 
only a weak woman : I can do nothing to save him. 

" To-da}' I longed to show my grateful love in some 
way that would let all men know how much I reverence 
him. I would show by a royal consecration that I believe 
him to be the King of Israel. I had been keeping for many 
years an alabaster box of very costly balsam, such as men 
use, I have been told, to anoint kings with on the day of 
their coronation. I said, ' I can do this for him : I can pour 
this balsam on his head. I cannot speak, and say what 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 337 

I believe, I cannot do any thing to defend him ; but this I 
can do : I can show that one person at least thinks him the 
King of the world.' 

" It was hard to do it. At one time I thought I should 
not dare to go. I said, ' They will laugh at me, they will 
think me bold or foolish : it may be thought not modest. 
It will not do any good : it may only make his enemies more 
angry ; it may call down their hatred on my poor brother. 
I had better not do it.' 

"But somehow my heart always answered, 'Go!' And 
I went. And in the midst of the feast some power stronger 
than myself made me break the box, and pour out the pre- 
cious balsam on his head and his feet. All who were there 
looked at me with amazement ; and I heard some say, ' This 
is a great waste : it ought to have been sold, and given to 
the poor. ' Then my heart sank within me ; for I knew how 
much the master loved the poor, and that he never wished 
any honor for himself, but said that he came not to be minis- 
tered unto. Thus I stood trembling, fearing his rebuke. 
But directly I heard his voice saying in gentle tones, 
' Trouble her not, she hath done a good work for me : she 
hath done what she could. She hath come beforehand to 
anoint my body for the burial. Ye have the poor with you 
always, but me ye have not always.' And then he said 
something more, about this deed of mine being spoken of 
with praise through all time ; but I could not have heard 
aright, since what have I done worthy of praise or remem- 
brance ? I am so happy because he seemed pleased at the 
offering, yet I am sad at what he said about his death. 
O Thomas ! how can such a one as he be permitted to die ? 
How can the Lord let such a one be taken away, when his 
great work is only begun ? ' ' 

Then I replied to Mary, and said, "His thoughts have 
been full of death during these last days ; and I think thy 
precious balsam smelt to him like the perfume of an em- 



338 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

balmed body. It was not the anointing of a Christ, but of 
a corpse. O Mary ! how can we let him go ? How great he 
is, how generous and wise, to accept thy gift so graciously ! 
Those who complained, and thought it wasted, are those who 
think those things only useful which are done for the body ; 
but thine act of love was a comfort to his soul. It is the 
Devil who says that man lives by bread onl}^ but our 
master tells us that man also liveth by every word that goeth 
forth from the mouth of God. Thy act, O Mar}^, was one of 
those words ; for God put it into thy heart to do it." 

This happened on the sabbath day ; and we passed the 
night in Bethany. The next day, being the first day of thfe 
week, we left Bethany early, in the company of a great 
number of pilgrims from Galilee and Peraea, — all of them 
disciples and friends of the master. The day was beautiful ; 
and the sun shone brightly on the procession, which wound 
along the slope of the Mount of Olives. All was bright 
without and within. The very air seemed full of hope. A 
great conviction had seized all minds, that Jesus was the 
King who was to come, who should restore to Israel its inde- 
pendence, and make Jerusalem the royal city of the whole 
Eastern world. Far to the West, Rome, seated on her seven 
hills, was the city of the kingdoms of this world : here at 
Jerusalem was to be the city of the kingdom of heaven. 
The Kaisar ruled there : the Christ should govern here. We 
would render to the Kaisar the things which were his, but 
to God the things which belonged to God. The hour had 
come, — the great hour, — foreseen by the prophets and the 
sibyls, when there should be peace on earth, and good will 
from God to man ; and Jesus himself, for the first time, did 
not forbid us to call him King. This showed that the great 
day of the Lord had come. 

Leaving Bethany, and the dark descent to Jericho, behind, 
the procession moved along the road, through the tall date- 
palms, up the ridge, to its summit. We looked back, and 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 339 

saw Bethany, the House of Dates," behind and below us, 
covering a shattered mass of rocks, which came out like a 
shelf for the town to stand upon. Beyond, to the east, rose 
the black mountains of Moab ; around were gardens of olives 
and figs, enclosed in their old gray walls. Our road wound 
between the summits, sometimes ascending, and then going 
down into a little valley. On the left the hill fell, like a 
precipice, toward the Valley of Hinnom. Onward we went, 
ascending again toward the higher summit of the mountain. 
All at once a part of the great city began to appear. Mount 
Zion came into view, with Herod's castle built on the place 
where the house of David had stood. When the people saw 
this old city of David, they began to cry out, " Hosanna to the 
Son of David ! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father 
David." The whole multitude stood still, gazing at the city, 
and raising their hymn of triumph. But some of the Phari- 
sees were displeased, because they thought Jesus had no 
right to claim the office of the Messiah of God until the 
priest and rulers had examined his claims ; and they said, 
"Master, rebuke thy disciples." But he replied, pointing 
to the loose stones which lay by the side of the road, " If 
these held their peace, the very stones would cry out." And 
the Pharisees were silent. 

Then the multitude once more moved forward. The city 
disappeared from view for a moment, hidden by a mass 
of rock which rose between. But soon the road ascended 
higher ; and now we came upon a level platform of stone ; 
and immediately Jerusalem appeared in full view, the sun 
shining on its marble walls and lofty towers. In the middle 
of the city, high above the valley, arose the majestic temple. 
Again the multitude burst into a chant of thanksgiving. 
Here the road wound to the right to avoid a deep guUey. 
As we looked over this depression, we saw another multitude 
approaching from the other side to meet us. They heard our 
chant, and caught it up, and also sang, " Hosanna to the Son 



340 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYJIUS. 

of David ! " On, their way up the hill from Jerusalem, they 
had taken the long leaves of the palm from the gardens on 
both sides of the way ; and as they reached us they divided 
on either side the road, and laid down their palm-leaves for 
Jesus to walk upon. We who had no palms took off our 
upper garments, and laid them on the road beneath his feet. 
But Jesus beckoned to Matthew and myself, and said to us, 
"Cross the valley by the footpath, while we go around by 
the longer circuit of the road. When ye come to where the 
path meets the road on the other side, ye will find an ass 
tied in front of a cottage. Loose him, and bring him up the 
road to meet me. And, if the owners ask why ye do it, tell 
them it is for me and they will give the ass to you." This 
we did ; and when we reached the master, and put our gar- 
ments on the ass, he rode on him. And the people under- 
stood the meaning of this action, and cried out, " The King 
of Peace cometh. He cometh in meekness and lowliness of 
mind. Hosanna to the King of Peace ! " For in that coun- 
try, my children, merchants and men of peace ride on the 
ass, and only soldiers and rulers ride on the horse. 

Thus we moved on again. The multitude from Jerusalem 
turned round, and went in front, and we who had left Beth- 
any came behind. 

And now we reached the descent of the hill, and once 
more we stopped for a moment. Then sadness came over 
the face of Jesus. Tears fell from his eyes while he looked 
at the city, because he knew that its rulers were not willing 
to receive him, the King of Peace, but demanded a King of 
War. He saw that the city and nation would thus be ruined, 
and his heart bled at the thought. It did not know, this 
great city of our fathers, that God was once more visiting 
it by this prophet, to offer it either life and good, or death 
and evil, as it might choose. Jesus saw the ruin that would 
come, and he wept. 

Once more the great multitude moved forward, and de- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 341 

scended the mountain, entering the city gates, and going 
toward the temple. We were joined, as we went, by other 
multitudes, all of whom took up our hymn of praise. Crowds 
filled the streets, and followed us. Arriving at the temple, 
we passed first into the large Court of the Gentiles. This 
court was thought by the Jews less sacred than the rest, 
because it belonged to the Gentiles, who could not go farther 
under pain of death ; and therefore they had leased to certain 
persons places in this court, where they could sell the sheep 
and doves for the sacrifices. Others were there as money- 
changers, to change foreign money into the half -shekel which 
every male Jew o^'er twenty years of age must pay annually 
into the treasury. The law required half a shekel from each 
Jew. The temple officers demanded that each Jew should 
deposit the exact coin. As the number of half-shekels in 
existence was not large, those which were paid in were 
immediately sold again, with one-tenth added to their value. 
Thus the same coin would be paid in a great many times 
^ach year, with a profit every time, which was divided be- 
tween the officers of the temple, and the money-changers 
furnished with coin from the treasury. 

Jesus entered this Court of the Gentiles, accompanied by 
the great multitude, who had formed a triumphal procession 
around him. Indignation seized him when he saw the place 
of worship for the nations of the world treated with such 
contempt by the priesthood, who ought to have welcomed 
the Gentiles to the worship of the one true God. The divine 
anger of the prophets of old seized him ; and, like as an- 
cient seers spoke to the sight of men by outward actions, he 
took a whip of small cord, and drove from the court these 
traffickers. In a voice so loud and clear that all could hear, 
he cried, "Have ye not read what the Lord said? — 'My 
house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations ; 
but ye have made it a den of thieves.' " He told them, that, 
when the Lord had declared that his house should be the 



342 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

temple where all mankind might worship, they had excluded 
all but themselves from the interior places of sacrifice, and 
then, leaving only one outside court for all other nations, had 
profaned that by their traffic. Thus he who just before had 
wept for the approaching ruin of his own city and people, 
now showed the love he felt for the outside world. The 
Jew was his fellow-countryman ; but the Gentile, also, was 
his fellow-man. 

And Jesus passed on, with the great compan}^ of his fol- 
lowers, into the Court of the "Women. Again the multitude 
broke forth into hosannahs, crying, " Hosannah to the King, 
the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh in the name 
of the Lord ! "We have blessed you out of the house of the 
Lord!" And, when they ceased, a multitude of children 
began to respond, singing the same psalm which the priests 
chanted in honor of the Messiah, the Kiug who was to come. 
And their little voices arose in praise of the King who comes 
in the name of the Lord. And they sang, '• Open to me the 
gate of righteousness, I will go in and praise the Lord." 

But the priests and rulers were much displeased, thinking 
that the worship of the temple should be performed by them- 
selves alone. They thought it wrong for little children to 
sing in the temple. And for these reasons they desired 
the more to destroy the master. But on this day they did 
not dare to do any thing, since the whole multitude were full 
of faith that Jesus was the King who was to come. In the 
day time he was surrounded by his friends ; and in the 
night time he retired from the city to where the Galileans 
had their tents, — on the other side of the Mount of Olives. 
There, likewise, he was in the midst of his friends, and was 
safe. The only danger for him would be if he were at any 
time alone, or with only his disciples near him. 

But this night we returned in safety to Bethany, and all 
things were prosperous. The people appeared ready to 
accept him as their Leader and spiritual King. His enemies 
were silenced, his friends encom-aged. 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 343 

The second day of the week also dawned brightly. Very 
early we took our way, with the multitudes, toward Jerusa- 
lem. Near the road we saw a fig-tree which seemed full 
of fruit, and we went toward it to gather some of the figs ; 
but what appeared like fruit were indeed dry leaves, for the 
fig-tree was dying of drought or disease. Then I saw Jesus 
lift his eyes toward the city and the temple, on which the 
sun had just arisen, and he said sadly, "No one shall ever 
again eat thy fruit." Afterward, Matthew and Simon said 
that he had cursed the fig-tree ; but to me it appeared he 
was speaking of Jerusalem, and that the barren fig-tree had 
seemed to him a type of the nation which would not bring 
forth fruit to God. The next morning, when we passed 
that way again, the fig-tree had withered almost wholly 
away, which caused Matthew to say that Jesus had cursed 
it, and wrought a marvel to destroy it. But Jesus answered, 
" Verily I say unto you that if we have faith, and do not 
doubt in our heart we could lift this mountain, and cause 
it to fall into the sea." And the disciples thought he 
spoke of the Mount of Olives on which we stood ; but I 
knew that his soul was exceeding sorrowful because of the 
hardness of the people's heart, and that his mind was always 
full of this thought : therefore I believe that he meant that 
their prejudice was as great as a mountain, preventing them 
from receiving the truth. He, therefore, was praying to 
God for power to roll away that mountain from their souls. 
For what was a fig-tree to him, or the marvel of destroying 
its life? Was he displeased with fig-trees? Had he not, 
long ago, in his temptation, refused and resisted all displays 
of power? I suppose, therefore, that the disciples were 
mistaken in this, and did not see the master's meaning. 

We went onward again, and entered the temple on this 
the second day of the week, which we call the second of the 
sabbath ; but the Romans call it the Day of the Moon. 

The act of Jesus in his solemn purification of the Gen- 



344 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

tiles' Court had increased the rage of the rulers : it was an 
interference with the police of the temple, which belonged 
to themselves. Moreover, it interfered with their revenue 
derived from the sale of the half-shekel. And, again, it was 
another proof of his purpose to break down the partition 
wall between Jew and Gentile, and to set up a universal 
kingdom of God on earth. In allowing the multitude to 
sing in his honor the Messiah's psalm, he was accepting the 
kingdom for himself. As they did not dare, in the present 
condition of the public mind, to risk a tumult b}' arresting 
him, they determined to discuss his claims, and convince the 
people that he had no right to be taken as the Messiah. 
Before his inspiration they were powerless, but they hoped 
to conquer him in argument. If the}' could induce him to 
discuss his claims, they relied on then logical skill, acquired 
by long practice in their schools. '• He appeals to feeling," 
said they : "he carries away the people by his high pro- 
phetic words : but, if we can engage him in argument, we 
bring him down from heaven to earth. He will then cease 
to be an inspired prophet, and become a mere philosopher, — 
only one rabbi among others." 

Therefore they made their arrangements, and prepared 
questions to put to him, and hoped, by thus leading him 
from the ground of insight to that of inquiry, to despoil 
him of his power. As soon as a prophet begins to discuss, 
instead of knowledge, he can only give arguments ; then 
he ceases to lead. The power of Jesus had always been 
in this, that he spoke what he knew, and testified what he 
had seen. He seldom argued, but usually affirmed. He an- 
nounced heavenly facts and divine laws, and made them 
visible to those who heard. Thus he spoke with authority ; 
and he differed from the scribes, to whom every question 
had two sides, and nothing was certain. The power of 
Jesus, as of all prophets, was, that he made truth appear as 
a reality, and not as a speculation ; for prophets unveil truth, 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 345 

whence they are said to bring a revelation, and are also 
called seers, because they see heavenly things. 

As soon, therefore, as Jesus had taken his place in the 
Gentiles' Court (where the traffickers no longer were seen, 
having gone outside of the temple), a learned body of 
elders and rulers came to him, and spoke thus : — 

"The Great Council, in whom the government of the na- 
tion rests, have heard of thy actions, O prophet of Galilee ! 
Yesterday thou drovest from this court, with great violence, 
those whom we had allowed to deal here in matters pertaining 
to the temple sacrifices and temple taxes. Thou ouglitest to 
have complained to us, if thou thoughtest this traffic wrong, 
and to have asked us, as guardians of the temple, to purify 
its courts. As thou didst not do this, but hast acted without 
our consent, we ask, in the name of the Great Council of 
Israel, for thine authority. Some say that thou claimest to 
be the Messiah. If thou art, thou hast full rights over us 
and over the temple ; but thou must prove that right, and 
the council demands that thou shouldst do it. Say, then, by 
what authority thou doest these things." 

Jesus looked at them calmly, and replied, " I, also, will ask 
you one question. If ye answer me, I will tell you by what 
authority I do these things. The baptism of John the Bap- 
tizer — was it from heaven, or of men? " 

Never saw I men so confused. Astonishment came over 
them, and they hastily consulted together. All saw the 
dilemma in which they were placed by this question which 
seemed so simple ; for, if they admitted that John was sent 
by God, Jesus would then have asked why they, the Great 
Council, who claimed the power to know and decide concern- 
ing all prophets, had not believed in him? They would thus 
admit, that either by their own ignorance, or disobedience to 
God's will, they had rejected a prophet of God. Having 
done this, what right had they to decide on the claims of 
Jesus? But they dared not say, in the presence of the 



346 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

people, that John had not been sent by God ; for the death 
of John, slain by Herod for his fidelity, had made him sacred 
in the eyes of the nation. He was now its great saint and 
martyr. 

Therefore the delegates hesitated, and at last replied that 
they could not say. Then Jesus replied, "Neither tell I 
you by what authority I do these things." And all men 
justified Jesus, saying, "If these scribes and rulers are so 
ignorant of the things of God, what right have they to decide 
upon the claims of this prophet of Galilee? " 

But Jesus, not satisfied with having defeated them, de- 
sired, like a skilful general, to turn their defeat into a rout, 
and thus went on, — 

"If ye cannot answer that question, let me ask another. 
A certain man had two sons. He came to the first, and said, 
'Son, go work to-day in my vinej^ard.' The young man 
answered, 'I will not,' but afterward repented, and went. 
He came to the other, and said likewise. And he answered, 
and said, ' I go, sir,' and went not. AYhether of these twain 
did the will of his father? " 

This time the delegates were unwilling to confess their 
ignorance, since it would be disgraceful to say twice that 
they could not answer such simple questions : therefore they 
replied, "The first." 

Then Jesus answered, " Truly ye say well ; for only those 
who obey God are his true servants, though they may have 
long refused to do so. The publicans and harlots did not 
call themselves the servants of God ; but, when God called 
them by his prophet John, they believed him, and obeyed. 
But ye, who always say to God, 'We will go,' have not 
obeyed when he called 3^ou. When the kingdom of heaven 
comes, you will still do the same. The publicans and harlots 
will go into that kingdom before you." 

Thus lie spoke, awful in his indignation, and they trembled 
before him. Again : he told a story of some wicked husbtind- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 347 

men, who beat and killed all the servants the master sent to 
them to claim the fruit of his vineyard, and at last killed 
their lord's own son. " What will the master do when he 
Cometh? He will destroy those husbandmen, and give the 
vineyard to others." 

And the scribes and rulers knew well what this story 
meant ; for the prophets of old had compared Israel to a 
vineyard which the Lord had planted, and which gave no 
fruit, and prophesied that he would take away the wall, and 
let it be trampled down. Knowing this, they said, " God 
forbid that the Lord should take away the kingdom from 
Israel, and cease to be our God, and become the God of 
strangers." And many of the people said " Amen." 

But Jesus answered, "Verily, it will be a sad day when 
the house of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob becomes desolate, 
and the Gentiles become heirs of your inheritance. Why, 
then, do ye stone God's prophets, and not hearken to them 
when he sends them to you, rising up early to send them ? 
If Israel is a barren fig-tree, it will be cut down ; for it 
cumbers the ground where a fruitful tree might stand. Have 
ye not read, ' The stone which the builders refused is become 
the head-stone of the corner ' ? Unless ye speedily return 
to God, and obey him, and listen to his prophets, the king- 
dom shall be taken from you, and given to a people bringing 
forth the fruits thereof. And many shall come from the 
east and the west, and sit down with Abraham in heaven, 
while the children of Israel are cast out." 

Thus he spoke, appealing to these rulers and rabbis with 
words in which a great power of truth was mingled with a 
mighty persuasion of love. He called on them to give up 
their trust in force and skill, and become the servants of the 
heavenly grace. He begged them, for the sake of their holy 
nation and city, not to make light of this invitation of their 
King, who had a marriage-feast prepared and waiting for 
them, and would call iu, if they refused to come, the very 



348 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

outcasts and beggars from the streets of the world to take 
their place. So might}^ were his words, that a terror and a 
tenderness came over the multitude, and many of the Phari- 
sees were touched ; but there was a body of them standing 
in the midst, so hard in their pride, that all this divine per- 
suasion fell on their ears like rain against a castle wall, and 
they were the more determined to destroy hun. They, there- 
fore, devised another plan, and prepared another question, 
which might make him odious to the people or to the 
Romans. There came before him certain Pharisees who 
objected to paying taxes to Rome, and with them certain of 
those called followers of Herod, who thought the Romans 
should be obeyed in all things. They pretended to be 
in a dispute among themselves, as to whether the Jewish 
people ought to pay the tribute to the Roman Kaisar, — a 
tribute which was first laid on them by Pompey the Great 
after he took Jerusalem. Therefore, hoping to entice Jesus 
to teach rebellion against Rome, they said to him that they 
knew he feared no man, and always told the truth, whether 
men would hear or forbear, and regarded not the person of 
the Roman governor, nor his power. " Tell us, therefore," 
said they, "is it lawful to pay tribute to the Kaisar, or 
not?" 

But he replied, asking for the tribute-money, that he might 
look upon it. They produced a denarius, a Roman coin. He 
demanded whose image and inscription was on it ; and they 
answered, "The head and inscription of the Kaisar." Then 
he said, "Give to the Kaisar what belongs to him, and to 
God what belongs to him." Now, we knew that the Kaisar 
only claimed the outward tril)ute of money, for which he 
gave protection to the outward life ; but God demands the 
inward tribute of worship and obedience. To pay tribute to 
the Kaisar, therefore, did not prevent us from worshipping 
God, and obeying him. We could not serve God and mam- 
mon ; but we could serve God, and let mammon serve the 
Kaisar. 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 349 

At Ibis time, and at other times, they had selected their 
wisest rabbis to debate these questions with Jesus. These 
rabbis had spent their hves in argument. Tliey were familiar 
with such controversies in every part. They knew every 
position which could be taken, and all the answers that could 
be made. They were practised in subtlety, keen to detect 
sophism and fallacy, and were masters in what the Greeks 
call logic, or the dialectic art. They were sure that they 
could confute this young man, who had been trained in no 
school, and was ignorant of all the turns and winding ways 
of these arguments. Therefore it was strange to see them 
silenced and helpless before him, knowing not what to say. 
His replies were full of light, clear as sunshine, and made 
their questions ridiculous. He answered their difficulties by 
letting in more light. His method reminded me of a parable 
I once heard in the synagogue. " Two men in a dark cham- 
ber disputed. One said, ' We are near the ocean ; for I hear 
the sound of water.' The other said, 'We are in the city; 
for I hear the sound of wheels.' But a child who was in the 
room said, ' Why do you not open the shutters and see ? ' 
And the child opened the shutters and let in the light ; and 
they looked through the window, and saw that they were 
neither by the sea, nor yet in the city, but in the country, 
near a mill, the wheels of which were turned by a running 
stream." 

Thus Jesus answered them by showing them something 
which made their question unnecessary. He removed the 
controversy to another region, lifting it to a higher point, 
where they could overlook the whole question. He conducted 
them to a new field, where all their old arguments were 
plainly out of place. He replied to all their difficulties by 
taking them up higher, into a region where the difficulties 
disappeared. This was seen when another body of ques- 
tioners arrived. 

Those who came next were Sadducees, — men who were 



350 THE LEGEND OF TH03IAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

like the Epicureans of Greece and of Rome. They said 
that all we know is matter and its appearances. The soul is 
either nothing, or it is a form of matter. When the body is 
dissolved, the soul disappears ; as when a lyre is broken, 
there can be no more music. This, also, was my opinion, so 
far as I had any fixed opinion. 

Now, the Sadducees were in alliance with the priests and 
rulers. They feared Jesus, because he seemed about to take 
away the power of the Great Council, and assume authority 
as the Messiah of God. Thus they also came forward with 
prepared arguments, telling of a woman who had seven hus- 
bands according to the Mosaic law, and asking whose wife 
she should be in the resurrection. With this question they 
had often confused the Pharisees, and hoped, by its means, 
to confuse Jesus. But he answered that they erred, and that 
in the resurrection there were no marriages. He also gave 
them, as proof that the dead rise and 'live, the words which 
God said to Moses, " I am the God of Abraham and Isaac 
and Jacob ; " adding that " God is not the God of the dead, 
but of the living." Thus he made them see that whoever 
belongs to God, and whom God loves, must live. Those 
who are his cannot perish ; for he is life, and his life must 
make them alive. 

No such argument as this had been used by the defenders 
of immortality. I had studied the arguments for a future 
life, in the Phsedo, and in the Tusculan Disputations. Soc- 
rates, in Plato, argues that the soul is immortal, for these 
reasons : First, all opposites generate each other, and as 
death follows life, so life must follow death ; secondly, 
since the soul remembers what happened before birth, it 
follows that it existed before its body, and therefore need 
not end with its body ; thirdly, the soul cannot be dissolved, 
since it is a pure unit, and indivisible ; fourthly, the soul is 
not the result of the body, as music is the result of a flute ; 
since it is a cause, and not an effect. These are the argu- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 351 

ments of Socrates. They convince us while we read them, 
but afterward leave us with no solid belief. And such are 
all the arguments for a future life, except this : that we have 
immortal life abiding in us. When we are in communion 
with God by trust in his love, then his life flows into our 
souls, and we need no argument to make us sure of immor- 
tality ; for, if God be our God, we know that we shall live ; 
since he is not the God of the dead, but the living. 

But at this time I had no such trust in God. My mind 
was tossed on an ocean of doubt, like a vessel at sea in a 
black night of storms, drifting it knows not whither. Later, 
I perceived that when we really know God, and receive the 
grace and truth he has sent to us in Jesus Christ, we have 
immortal life abiding in us ; then all fear of death departs, 
and we need no argument to prove our immortality. 

This answer shows how Jesus departed from the well- 
trodden road of argument and proofs, and how he gave men 
new visions of God and eternity, making old arguments seem 
weak and childish. As he spoke, the realities of heaven be- 
came open before us, and men marvelled at these heavenly 
visions. As the stars fade when the sun rises, so the cere- 
monies and sacrifices and worship of the temple faded away 
in the awful presence of divine truth and divine love. 

So it was this day, when another — a young scribe, or 
teacher of the law — came forward, after the Sadducees had 
departed. As he approached, he looked confident, as though 
he had some important work to do. The Sanhedrim had 
appointed him to put another question to Jesus. He was to 
ask him which was the greatest Commandment of the law. 

His plan, as he told me afterward, was this : the scribes 
and doctors made the whole law consist of something to be 
done, or not to be done, of duties commanded, or transgres- 
sions forbidden. Now, it was necessary to have a body of 
learned men to explain to the people what these Command- 
ments meant. The first Commandment of the tables of 



352 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED Dn)Y]tfTJS. 

Moses says, "Thou shalt have no other God before me." 
But how shall the people know who God is ? How shall 
they know how he is to be worshipped, or what service he 
demands by this Commandment? Another Commandment 
says, " Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day, and 
do no work therein ; ' ' but how shall they know exactly what 
work they may do, and what not do? They need learned 
men to decide this, and to explain to them what is lawful, 
and what not, on the sabbath. The law says, "Honor thy 
father and mother ; ' ' but what must the son do to honor his 
parents? What is commanded, and what forbidden, by this 
law? "Thou shalt do no murder;" but what is murder? 
Is it murder to kill in self-defence ? If not, what danger will 
justify killing ? Evidently the written law is not enough : 
there is needed a body of learned men able to teach its prac- 
tical application to actual life. The laws are general in their 
expression, and must be so ; and therefore there is needed 
some class of men to teach how they shall be obeyed in each 
particular case. 

Now, a few days before, when Epinetus, the rich young 
man, member of the Sanhedrim, had come to Jesus, asking 
him, " What shall I do to have eternal life? " Jesus had re- 
plied, telling him to keep the Commandments by doing right 
and abstaining from wrong, and ended by telling him to sell 
all he had, give to the poor, and follow him. What Jesus 
then demanded for eternal life was outward conduct. The 
scribe had heard of this. He said to himself, "I will go 
and ask which of all these Commandments is the most im- 
portant. Whatever Jesus says, I will then ask, ' How can 
men know how to obey this Commandment, or precisely what 
is to be done ? ' I can show that every outward act needs 
to be carefully defined and explained, and that to do this 
requires a body of educated lawyers. And, if so, why does 
he lead the people to despise our profession, which is so 
necessary and useful ? " 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 353 

Jesus, who knew what was in man, and saw the things 
most needed by each, perceived that the soul of Epinetus 
had become dried up with speculation, and required to be 
turned to action ; but he saw that the lawyer had always been 
conversing with outward and minute actions, and needed to 
be turned back upon the things unseen and eternal. There- 
fore he answered: "The first of all the Commandments is, 
' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, 
mind, and strength.' That is the first and great Command- 
ment ; and the second is like it, ' Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself.' On these two Commandments hang all the 
law and the prophets." 

And, when Jesus thus spoke, the scribe forgot all his subtle 
questions, and the answers he had made ready beforehand ; 
for he was a true Israelite at heart, and without inward guile. 
He saw that love to God will cause us to wish to do his will 
in all things, and to find out what that will is at all times. 
He saw that love to man will keep us from wishing to do 
man any harm, and make us desire to do him all the good we 
may. As a river in spring overflows its banks, so his heart 
suddenly overflowed, and he forgot his pride and skill, and 
was full of awe and reverence. He uttered his soul, and 
said, " Thou hast said the truth, O master ! Love, indeed, is 
every thing, and will lead to all knowledge. To love God is 
better than all the sacrifices which are brought to this temple, 
and all the offerings on that altar." And Jesus said, " Dost 
thou indeed see this ? Then thou art just ready to enter my 
kingdom." 

On this day, which may be called the Day of Discussion, 
all the attempts to overcome Jesus in debate broke down. 
Neither the acute Pharisees, nor the hard Sadducees, nor the 
most learned of the scribes, availed any thing against the 
pure light which streamed from the soul of Jesus as from a 
sun. They brought their thoughts, and he gave them his 
knowledge. All the people saw this difference so plainly, 



354 THE LEGEND OF TH031AS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

that his enemies ceased from argument, and did not venture 
to ask an}^ more questions. 

The Pharisees had everywhere circulated a report that 
Jesus could not be the Messiah who was to come, because he 
was not descended from David. This argument was used by 
the Jews after the death of Jesus, when his disciples became 
numerous. In answer to this, some of the preachers of the 
gospel produced genealogies from the archives of the Levites, 
which were carefully kept in every city, to show that the 
master was indeed descended from David, both by the father 
and the mother. My brother Paul laughed at this, and said, 
that whether Jesus was descended from David, or not, was 
of no moment, inasmuch as he was declared to be the Son of 
God with power, by his ascent from death into a higher life. 
Paul exhorted his disciples not to pa}^ any attention to these 
endless genealogies and old wives' fables. Kor, indeed, did 
Jesus claim any such outward descent from David, but rather 
declared that the Messiah ought not to be called David's son, 
since he was greater than David, and the master of David. 
And in this, again, he set aside the discussion by taking his 
opponents with him to a higher position, from which the 
debate appeared an idle one. 

At this time tliere was standing before us, at a little dis- 
tance, a group of the Separate Society, earnestly disputing 
with those about them on this point. I went near to listen 
to what they said, and heard ^uch words as these : " He can- 
not be the Messiah, for he is not the son of David. He is a 
Galilean, born in Nazareth : that settles the question." 

Directly Jesus spoke to them, and said, " Draw near. 
Since j^ou have asked me many questions, I, also, will ask 
you a question. You say that the Messiah must be the son 
of David. How, then, is it that David calls the Christ, not 
his son, but his master, in that psalm in which he describes 
the Messiah as making the people willing in the da}^ of his 
power, and as being an eternal priest after the order of 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 355 

Melchi-Zadek, the king of righteousness? Do fathers call 
their children lord and master ? " 

And the Pharisees had nothing to say in answer ; but 
from this I saw that Jesus did not desire to be called son of 
David. He did not say, " Verily, my mother and my father 
are both descended from David, as your genealogies will 
show ; and in truth I was not born at Nazareth, but at Beth- 
lehem, the city of David." Instead of this, he showed that 
the Coming One would not be a son of David. 

Some of us afterward asked him why in this psalm the 
Christ was called "an eternal priest after the order of 
Melchi-Zadek." 

He told us, in reply, that there were two kinds of priests. 
The Jewish priests were priests because they were descended 
from Levi, and could prove their descent by the genealogies ; 
but Melchi-Zadek, the king of peace and of righteousness, 
called in Scripture " priest of the Most High God," was not 
a priest by any correct genealogy or sacramental succession. 
The Scriptures say nothing about his father or mother, where 
he was born, or where he died. He was a priest because 
he had the soul of a priest, because he could bring men to 
God, and make them feel the pardoning love of God. All 
who can do this are priests after the order of Melchi-Zadek. 
And the Messiah, who will bring all nations to God, and 
give to them faith in his pardoning love, will be more than 
all a priest of this order, by the power, not of any outward 
succession, but of an inward life. 

And this second day of the week of Pascha, which we 
have called the Day of Discussion, came to an end. 

The crowds streamed forth from the temple, which the 
scribes called "The Mountain of the House." The captain 
of the temple had po.3ted the temple guards at each gate as 
the people went out ; and, when they all had gone forth, the 
Levites, with their trumpets, blew one long, loud cry, and 
then twelve men shut the great gate with a loud clang. It 



356 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

was a saying amoDg the Jews, that people heard the shutting 
of the great gate as far as Jericho. And from Jericho, 
which is five hours from Jerusalem as a man walks who goes 
rapidly, they were said also to hear the sound of the trumpets 
and cymbals, and the clang of the horn, and the chanting 
of the psalms by the Levites. All this we heard from the 
Mount of Olives ; but I do not think it could be heard at 
Jericho. 

It was the custom of Jesus, after leaving the city, to go 
with his disciples to a garden on the ascent of the Mount of 
Olives, which belonged to one of his friends. It was called 
"The Garden of the Oil-Press, " because there was a press 
for making oil from the olives of the mountain. There were 
also fig-trees and pomegranates, and old olive-trees, with 
their great twisted trunks and their light foliage. Here, 
after leaving the crowds of the city, the master came every 
day and rested a while, and talked with us of what we had 
seen and heard. Afterward, the crowds being gone, we 
walked on to Bethany to pass the night. 

That evening, as we sat together in the Garden of the Oil- 
Press, the master talked with us, and taught us. There were 
vines growing near us ; and as the moon, almost full, arose, 
and lighted up the trees, we said, " How well are these vines 
tended ! How carefully are they pruned ! The owner has 
been bold enough to cut away many branches, and to pull off 
many clusters : therefore those that remain are thus large." 

And Jesus said, "As the good husbandman prunes his 
vine, thus doth the Father prune us, that we may bring forth 
more fruit. I am his vine, and he means that I should 
bring forth much fruit : therefore he will cut away all dead 
branches, and cut off a part of many living ones. Ye are 
branches, and I am the vine. Continue in me, and draw 
nourishment from me, and you will bring forth much fruit. 
And be not afraid or confounded when the Father of us all 
prunes you severely, and 3'ou bleed, and are in anguish ; for 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 357 

it is done that you may bring forth more fruit. So long as 
I am here and talli with you, you are clean by the power of 
my words : you feel full of courage, and only love what is 
good. But when, you see me no more, continue in me, and 
still partake of my life ; for I shall be with you always, even 
to the end of this age." 

Thus he talked with us, full of tenderness ; and the place 
seemed dear to us because of his words of love. In the 
same way he came and talked in this Garden of the Oil- 
Press every evening. But what horror, that one of his own 
friends, whom he had spoken to here, should have chosen 
this spot, so sacred, as the place of his betrayal ! 

Then we left the Garden of the Oil-Press, and walked on, 
still talking, by the light of the full moon. We ascended 
to the summit of Olivet, and followed the road to Bethany. 
Along the way were many tents, where the Galileans passed 
the night, waiting for the Passover. As we went on, some 
were standing near the path. And one spoke to me, and 
said, " The rulers threaten to kill our prophet ; but we have 
our swords, and are ready to defend him, even with our lives. 
Call on us if there is any danger." 

And thus began the third day of the Paschal Week ; for 
our people begin the day with the evening, because the Book 
of the Beginnings says that ' ' the evening and the morning 
were the first day." Therefore our rabbis said that the 
world was created at sunset. 

The next morning, it being still the third day of the week 
by. the Jewish reckoning, we again took our way to Jerusa- 
lem, over the Mount of Olives. But to-day Jesus took his 
place, not as before in the Court of Gentiles, but, passing up 
through the Gate of Nicanor, sat in the Court of the Women. 
In this court were the tall, trumpet-shaped vessels to receive 
gifts for the treasury. One of these was near where we 
were placed. AVe saw a rich and devout Jew approach ; 
and, taking a leathern bag from his girdle, he opened it, and 



358 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

emptied the gold-pieces it contained into the mouth of the 
tall trumpet. Then the treasury attendants and those who 
stood by applauded loudly. Others came up, in turn, and 
gave, — some more, and others less. At last came a poor 
woman ; and, raising her hand in order to reach the mouth of 
the trumpet, she dropped in two small coins of copper. 
Some of those who stood by laughed rudely, and said, " Little 
good will that dor it will not buy one pinch of incense, — 
not so much as can be held between the thumb and finger ! " 
And the woman answered them, and said, " I am a widow, 
and am poor. These two mites which I give are all the 
money I have in the house. To-day I and my children will 
have nothing to eat." Then Jesus, who was the friend of 
the poor, turned to his disciples and to those who stood by, 
and said, " Verily, I say unto you that this widow hath cast 
in more than they all ; for others have given out of their 
abundance, but she, out of her want, even all she had." 

On that day none of the rulers or chief priests came near, 
or spoke to the master. If any passed by, they looked 
darkly at him. Then we feared, what was indeed true, that 
they had finally determined to reject him, and to consider 
him as a false prophet and a false Messiah ; and this thought 
filled our souls with grief. 

There were in Jerusalem at that time many proselytes 
from Greece, who had come to the feast : these had lis- 
tened to the teachings of Jesus, and had been made glad 
by his words ; and they said to each other, " In this man's 
teaching there is nothing foreign, nothing barbarous. It is 
like the words of our own sages. It is for all men, and for 
all time." Therefore they came and asked us to let them 
speak to Jesus. And when we told him that the Greeks 
had come, wishing to be his disciples, he seemed deeply 
moved, and said, " The crisis of the world has come. The 
Jews refuse the truth of God : the Gentiles come and ask 
for it. The hour has come for the Son of man to be glori- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 359 

fied by becoming the Saviour of the world. But the seed 
must die in the ground before it can bring forth fruit." 
While he was speaking, the heavens were gradually becom- 
ing overcast with clouds, and a dark storm came near. 
Jesus sat, deeply moved by many thoughts. We saw this, 
and did not speak to him. He looked at us, and said, 
" Yes, my soul is troubled, and I know not what to ask of 
God. I would stay and finish my work. I long to save the 
people. But to love life is to lose it: to be willing to lose 
life is to save it. Shall I, then, ask God to save me from 
this hour ? Have I not come to this hour for the very pur- 
pose of glorifying God in the salvation of the human race? 
It was my love for the Gentiles that has created the hatred 
which brings me to this hour. Let God be glorified by my 
death." Then he rose, and said in a solemn voice, " Father, 
glorify thy name." At this moment there came a burst 
of thunder from heaven repeated in many echoes, in which 
God appeared to answer him, and say again and again, 
" I will glorify it." And the Daughter of the Voice seemed 
to us to be speaking out of the sky ; and we cried out, 
' ' God answers his prayer I ' ' But those who disbelieved in 
him said, " No ; but it happened by accident that the thunder 
came at this moment." 

Afterward I wondered, if, in truth, the Bath Kol, or 
Daughter of the Voice, had spoken to him. And I thought 
that he indeed needed no voice, but that the heavens and 
earth sympathized with every great event, and that whoever 
needed a voice from heaven would hear it. 

He then spoke to the people, and said to them, "This is 
indeed the crisis of the world : and from this hour shall the 
Prince of Evil, who has so long ruled the world, lose his 
power ; for, when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall be- 
come the Saviour of the whole world, and draw all men 
unto me." 

One of the emissaries of the Sanhedrim, who had been 



360 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

sent to watch him, and to report his actions, then, said, 
" We have heard out of the law that the Christ abideth 
forever ; and how sayest thou that the Son of man shall be 
lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Is he the Christ, or 
is he not ? Thou callest thyself the Son of man : if thou art 
the Christ, no one can kill thee." 

But Jesus did not answer the man. He went on to teach 
the people, asking them to listen to his words, which might 
be the last they would hear from him. Then he said to 
them that they need not trouble themselves to know whether 
he were the Christ, or not ; for he did not ask them to be- 
lieve in himself, but rather to believe in his truth. "Do 
not look at me," he said, " but look through me at Him who 
sent me. For when ye see me, ye see not me, but Him. 
When ye hear me, ye hear not me, but Him. And, when 
ye believe on me, ye believe not on me, but on Him. I am 
come to 3''0u to bring you light ; and if ye are in this light, 
and walk in it, and not in darkness, then I have done my 
work for you. While ye walk in the light of truth, ye are 
safe, and cannot go astray. I do not condemn those who 
refuse to believe in me, if they will believe what I say. If 
what I say is truth, receive it, and walk in it : if ye refuse 
to do so, I do not judge you. The truth will judge all men 
in the great day of judgment." 

And he spoke more earnestly to them, and told them that 
they must choose between himself and the Pharisees ; for 
that his teaching was the opposite in all things to theirs. If 
one was light, the other was darkness. When the scribes 
and Pharisees took the seat of Moses in the synagogue, to 
translate the Books of Moses to the people, and to make 
clear the meaning of Moses, then what they said was to be 
listened to. When they followed INIoses, they were right; 
but, when they went their own way, they were wrong. They 
made conformity to their rules in outward action the main 
thing, and were patterns of outward regularity in all cere- 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 361 

monies. But Jesus taught that the soul must be made right 
first, the heart filled with love, the mind with truth, and then 
the whole man would be full of light, and all his actions, 
true. 

Then he told the people, that, the scribes and Pharisees 
having taken this false step at the beginning, all their steps 
had gone further wrong. At last they had become hypo- 
crites, thinking only to please men, not God ; dressing in 
long robes, and making many prayers, and paying tithes, 
and full of scruples in all little matters, but forgetting the 
great commands of God, — justice, faith, and love. " They 
live," he said, " for themselves, for their own ease and 
comfort, their own glory : therefore they have corrupted the 
mind of the people, and are leading it toward ruin. It is 
going on the way of destruction. This temple in which we 
stand will fall, and its sacred worship cease, unless a great 
change comes." 

God, said he, hath taught me this, and hath put in my 
soul the power by which I can prevent this ruin, if ye will 
turn from the scribes' teaching, and follow mine. He hath 
revealed himself in my soul as the Father. I see him always 
as my Father, and the Father of all mankind. He asks us to 
love him as our Father, and to love all men as our brethren. 
Follow me, and I will lead you to the Father. Ye shall see 
him as I see him ; for no one cometh to the Father, but by 
me. He has made me his Son, — his well-beloved Son, — that 
I may make you all his sons. Come to me, all ye who labor, 
and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest ; for the peace 
in my soul is so great and so abiding, that I can give it to 
you if you will come to me. 

While he thus spoke, the people were greatly moved ; and 
many said, " This is the Christ : let us follow him, and cause 
the rulers to receive him." But the emissaries of the rulers 
went to and fro among them, and said, " Know ye not that 
the Great Council hath determined that he is a deceiver? It 



362 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

hath also been decreed that whoever conf esseth him to be the 
Christ shall be cut off from the people, from his home, and 
be made to live like a leper and an outcast." Thus the 
people were uncertain, and decided nothing. 

Jesus, seeing that he could do no more, went forth from 
the temple, and stood outside, gazing at its loft}^ walls, strong 
as a mighty fortress, and at the golden ornaments which 
gleamed far up in the sky on the summit of the Holy of 
holies. And the disciples said to him, "Is it not the grand- 
est temple in the world? " But he sighed deeply, and said, 
"The day of its destruction hath at last come. Not one 
of these stones shall be left resting on another, but every 
one shall be cast down." And he turned away, and left the 
city, and went to the Mount of Olives ; for it was evening. 
And he sat on the mount, and looked again at the temple. 

Then we, his twelve, came to him privately, and said to 
him, "Tell us when shall all this be? And how shall we 
know when thou art to come, and when the old age shall 
end, and the new age begin? " 

He answered, first telling us that no one could foretell 
the day and hour of such events, which come according to 
the decree of God and the freedom of man. Only the Infinite 
Being can know when these two shall unite in one result. 
Man can foresee the event as determined by God ; but 
neither man, nor angels, nor the Christ himself, can tell the 
very day when it shall take place. 

Next he described to us the nature of his coming, as 
afterward he described it in his conversations at the last 
supper. And some of us thought that he meant to appear 
visibly in the clouds, with a great sound of a trumpet, and 
surrounded by whole troops of angels ; but others of us 
thought that he meant to say that he should be seen in- 
wardly in the soul, and would bring light and love to the 
hearts of men all over the world. For thus he spoke after- 
ward, at the supper, when he said, "I wiU not leave you 



THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 363 

comfortless : I will come to you." He told us at that time, 
that his coming would give to all his disciples inward peace 
and joy, enable them to bear fruit, and make them one 
with the Father, the Father dwelling always in their souls. 
This would be his coming. It would not be outward and 
apparent, but inward and real ; not something we should see, 
but something we should become. And on this occasion, 
while teaching us on the Mount of Olives, he finished all 
he had to say with the description of his coming to all man- 
kind, dividing the evil and the good according to their love 
to their fellow-men. All who had loved and helped their 
neighbor, he said, would appear to have been truly his ser- 
vants, even though they had never known him. Thus he 
taught that his coming was in reality God coming to the 
human heart as a tender father, and man loving all men as 
though each one whom he helped was Christ himself. 

But, when we asked for the signs of his coming, he warned 
us of coming wars and persecutions ; and that we should be 
hated of all men for his sake, and put to death. He said that 
terrible calamity would come on Judaea and Jerusalem, and 
that we must escape from this country for our lives. He 
said false prophets would arise, and would deceive many ; 
and that Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentiles, 
till the time of the Gentiles was fulfilled. Therefore, all 
must watch, and be ready, and not be like foolish virgins, 
who slept when their Lord was near at hand. And, though 
he did not fix the year or the day of these events, he said that 
this generation should not pass away till all was fulfilled. 

While he spake, the future seemed to unroll before him 
like one of the large maps I had seen in the Serapeum in 
Alexandreia, on which all the world is drawn. He was car- 
ried up in a vision, and we sat still, gazing at his face, which 
glowed as with hidden fire. And since then, when some of 
these events have come to pass, I have wondered at the truth 
of his prophecy : for persecutions and wars have come ; and 



364 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ev^en now I am told by a messenger from the Parthian king, 
that tlie Romans are laying waste Jerusalem with fire, and 
that awful desolation has come on the land. 

Thus ended the third day of the week, and the fourth 
began. We went, as usual, into the Garden of the Oil- 
Press, and rested there during an hour. Jesus remained 
apart, in thought ; but we talked together in whispers of all 
we had heard. 

Of the conversations which followed on the next two even- 
ings, I have received an account, sent to me by my dear 
brother, the Beloved One, the Missionary John, whom Jesus 
loved much. One of his disciples at Ephesus in Asia, where 
he now lives, has written down from his lips all that he 
remembers of those wonderful conversations of the master. 
In my memory they remain as a strange dream, — a dream 
of heaven ; for while Jesus talked with us, and comforted 
us, I seemed to be sitting with him in some heavenly place. 
I drank in the music of his love, but my faithless memory 
has preserved little of what he said. Thus I was glad to 
have these papers, written while John's disciples sat around 
him, asking him concerning Jesus. This young scribe wrote 
down every thing which John narrated of the acts and 
conversations of Jesus. 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 365 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

e 

THE LAST CONVERSATIONS . OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 

PAPYRI OF THE GOOD NEWS ACCORDING TO JOHN. 

{Written down hy the Scribe Flavins, and sent to my dear brother, 
Thomas the Twin, residing in the Far East.) 

Health and joy in the master's love ! 

Whereas thou hast written by a messenger to ask for my memo- 
ries of the last sayings of our beloved master, I have requested 
the young man Flavius, who has the ready pen of a scribe, to send 
to thee a portion of the papers he wrote at the times when I talked 
to my little children of the love of Jesus. 

From the old man, 

JOHN. 

Paper I. — Concerning Christ as the Word o/God. 

This first paper, O Thomas, I do not send thee, since it was 
written for those philosophers called " The Knowing Ones," in the 
midst of whom we live. They teach that the primal God can 
never be known by man, but is an abyss of darkness. But out of 
him, say they, proceeded at first his Word, like a high archangel ; 
and from him came Wisdom, who is called Sophia; and from her 
came Light ; and Light produced Life. So, at last, from Life, the 
Demiurg was born, who made the world. Thus teach the Gnos- 
tics, or Knowing Ones. 

And when our master, John the Beloved Disciple, heard of this 
doctrine, he was moved to reply out of the depths of his spiritual 
discernment, and that the rather, because the Knowing Ones 
scouted the good news by Jesus the Christ as a Jewish supersti- 
tion, saying, " How can the mighty Maker of all the worlds have 



366 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

been silent until now, and oijly make himself known at last by an 
ignorant peasant in the province of Syria? " 

We, the disciples of John, have from time to time asked him 
to tell us his memory of the great prophet Jesus, his master and 
ours. And when he tells us any thing we write it down on a 
leaf of papyrus, and copy these, and send them to the other 
churches; and they, in return, send to us the narratives they 
have received from other apostles, as Matthew one of the twelve, 
and Mark the amanuensis of Peter, and Luke the companion of 
Paul, who is also a Greek scholar. 

Therefore, when our master heard these words uttered by the 
Knowing Ones, he told us to write what should stand as a begin- 
ning to his narrative of the good news. He taught us that God 
spoke in the beginning, when he created the heavens and the earth ; 
for that by his word were they made, and all the host of them by 
the breath of his mouth. When the Lord created the world in 
ancient times, then he spoke, and creation was his first word ; for 
the heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his 
handiwork. The word of God, therefore, was in the beginning ; 
but it was no great archangel issuing from an abyss of darkness, 
as the Gnostics teach, but God himself, speaking, and making 
a revelation of himself. 

Then our teacher told us to write that all souls in which is life 
are manifestations of the Lord who makes them. Li this life is 
light; for the reason and the conscience in man also speak to 
him of God, and are the Daughter of the Voice to him. Thus life 
and light are not separate beings ; but they are the same word of 
God speaking in the soul, which before had spoken in the visible 
universe. By this word the prophets were taught, who have been 
since the world began. Thus God hath not left himself without 
a witness in those whom he hath raised up to preach his law and 
his love to his children. 

Then he told us to write that this divine word, or revelation, 
which was God himself speaking, was at last made flesh, and 
dwelt among us, abiding in him who was always in the bosom of 
his Father. And through him the word of God speaks anew, 
teaching of his grace and his tender love to each of his children : 
for the law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by 
Jesus the Christ. 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 367 

Thus the Gnostics were taught their error in thinking the good 
news was the beginning of the revelations of God, when, in truth, 
it was the fulfilling of them all. They also were shown their 
error in teaching that the Word was a second person, differing 
from God himself, since the Word is the speech of the Almighty, 
either in the visible world, or the light of the soul which lightens 
every man who comes into the world, or the grace and compassion 
which dwelt in Jesus Christ. Flavius the Scribe. 

The Second Paper was concerning Johann the Baptizer ; the 
Third Paper was concerning the Marriage at Kana ; the Fourth was 
concerning Nicodemus ; and the Fifth, concerning the Woman of 
Samaria. These papers I do not transcribe ; since I have already 
spoken to you, my children, concerning these things. And there 
are many other papers not well arranged ; since some things which 
should follow after are put before, and others which should go 
before them come after. And this, I think, was because John 
himself, not having read them, did not see how they were placed 
together ; for if he had he would have altered the arrangement. 

I find many great and wonderful words of Jesus written in these 
papers of John ; and no one, I think, was able to remember so well 
some of the divine sayings of the master, uttered to us his disciples 
during the two days which follow after that of which I have 
spoken : therefore I shall borrow from them many things here. Yet 
here, also, there is a little confusion in the arrangement, by which 
things have been mingled together by the writer, Flavius. During 
these two days, the fourth and fifth day of the week, Jesus re- 
mained at Bethany, where he could not be found by the soldiers 
of the high priest, who had been commanded to arrest him before 
the feast day ; for they feared, if he was seized then, when great 
multitudes filled the city, there would be a tumult among the 
people. Until the feast day, therefore, Jesus remained with us, 
and taught us, and comforted our hearts ; and these words of 
comfort are recorded by John. 

Paper XIII. — Conversations of Jesus on the Fourth Day of the 
Week, which is the 13th of the Month Nisan. 

I find among the papers of John one in which two conversa- 
tions of Jesus have been put together in one by the mistake of 



368 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYJa'S. 

the scribe. These conversations took place on two evenings, after 
the two suppers of which Jesus and his disciples partook together. 
The first was on the night before the Passover : the second was at the 
Passover. They are not distinguished in the narration of John; 
yet the place where the first conversation ends is pointed out by 
the words of Jesus, "Arise, let us go hence." 

I remember well both these conversations. Jesus now saw 
clearly that the rulers and the people would reject him, and that 
he would be delivered up to the Romans, and put to death : 
therefore he ceased from all further attempts to convince the 
people. He did not go to Jerusalem, or enter the temple, during 
these two days. He gave himself entirely to his disciples. All 
he thought of was how he could comfort and encourage us. He 
sought to prepare us for this great bereavement: he did not 
think of his own sufferings. He did not speak again of the 
woes coming to his people because they rejected him, except dur- 
ing one brief hour of agony in the Garden of the Oil-Press. Now 
he thought only how to strengthen our souls, to fill them with 
hope, to pour into us his own confidence in God, to fill us with 
an unselfish love for each other. 

On this first evening he sought to impart to us this generous 
brotherly love ; and as an outward, visible action makes a deep 
impression, he gave us two of these, — one at the first supper, the 
other at the second. One of them should remind us that we were 
to serve each other; the other, that we were to receive strength 
and peace from God. To-night he showed us by a visible action 
that brotherly love should lead us to do for each other the hum- 
blest service. This he taught us by taking a basin of water and a 
towel, and washing our feet. He, our great master, our wonderful 
prophet, the Son of God, knelt at our feet, and performed for us 
this humble service. Our brother Simon Peter did not wish to 
accept this condescension: he did not wish the master thus to 
humble himself, and take on him the form of a servant, and de- 
clared that Jesus should never wash his feet. But Jesus said to 
him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me." Then the 
impetuous soul of Peter, which knew no moderation, went in a 
moment from one feeling to the contrary one ; and he cried out, 
"Master, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." 
But Jesus answered, and explained to us, that, by washing our 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 369 

feet, he taught by an outward sign how we must help each other 
wash from the soul the soils and stains which come from daily- 
temptations. And as he who has bathed does not need to bathe 
his whole body every time he enters the house, but only to wash 
his feet, which are soiled with the dust of the road, so he who 
has once given himself to the service of God does not need to do 
this again every day, but only to confess and forsake his daily 
transgressions. Thus he taught us to do for each other, after he 
was gone, what he had done for us, being with us. 

After this we lay down on the couches around the table. 
Next to Jesus reclined John the Beloved; and Simon Peter lay 
next to him. Then the damsel of the house brought the dish of 
meat boiled with spices into a thick gravy, and placed it, with a 
loaf, of bread, before Jesus. For this supper, boiled meat and 
leavened bread were allowable, for the Passover had not yet begun. 
At the Paschal Supper only roast meat was allowable, and if a 
drop of the gravy fell on the meat the scribes said it must be cut 
away. Jesus broke the loaf into thirteen pieces, giving to each 
of us a piece to dip into the dish, and thus sop up the gravy. 

Then the master's face was troubled, and he sighed deeply. 
" Alas ! " said he, " now is the Scripture fulfilled which says, 
' Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat my 
bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.' I tell you of it before, 
that he may know that I know him ; for in truth one of you is 
about to betray me." 

When Jesus said this, we were very sorrowful, and each one 
feared lest it might be himself. And we looked at the master in 
fear ; and each said to him in a trembling voice, " Master, is it 
I ? Master, is it I ? " Then Peter whispered to John, and said, 
" Ask him who it is;" for Peter, being confident in himself, did 
not fear that he could do such a thing as this. And John the 
Beloved One said softly to Jesus, "Master, who is it?" And 
Jesus said, not looking at any one, yet so that all could hear, " It 
is one of you twelve, one to whom I have just given a piece of 
bread, and who will dip it into this dish with me. I must go 
where God, not man, has determined ; but what woe, what misery, 
•will be his lot who shall betray me ! It would be good for him 
never to have been born." 

Then Judas of Karioth, who was thinking to betray him, when 



370 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

he saw tliat the others had said " Is it I ? " lest he should make 
confession by his silence, also said to Jesus, "Master, is it I?" 
And Jesus, looking at him sadly, answered in a low voice, " Thou 
hast said." And Jesus handed the dish to the others, having 
dipped his own sop; and each dipped in it, and ate. But, v^^hile 
Judas ate, his face was dark and fierce, as though some evil spirit 
had gone into him. Then Jesus said to him, " Do at once what 
thou proposest." And he immediately rose and went out. AVe 
wondered why he went out, since it was now night. Nor did any 
of us know what Jesus meant, for he only wished Judas to see 
that he knew what was in his heart; thus, haplj^ he might yet 
prevent him from committing the sin, which, though Jesus might 
forgive it, the world would never pardon, no, not for all time. 
We indeed thought that Jesus meant to tell him to go and buy 
something that we should need for to-morrow's feast; for, after 
the Paschal Feast began, nothing could be bought. 

When he was gone, and all who remained were united in one 
love, the heart of Jesus grew more light. Then he began to talk 
to us of the glory that would come to himself when it was granted 
to him to reveal the glory of God's love to all mankind; for 
always he looked through his death to the great good which was 
to come. He told us that now he had only a few more hours to be 
with us, for he was going where we could not follow. 

Some suppose that this saying of Jesus, that one should betray 
him, and the dipping of bread, and the going-out of Judas, hap- 
pened on the next night, at the Paschal Supper. But this could not 
be, since on that evening there was no gravy into which to dip the 
sop, but only roast meat. Nor could we have believed that Judas 
went out to buy, if it were already in the midst of the solemn 
feast, when no shops were open. Moreover, if Judas had then 
been with us, he might have brought the soldiers directly to the 
guest-chamber, and the master would have been taken there. All 
this, therefore, happened at the first supper; and all was harmony 
among us on this night and the next, Judas being gone. 

Then Jesus said that he had a new commandment to give us. 
Besides the two great Commandments, to love God with all our 
heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, there was a third command- 
ment, which was to love our brother who had the same faith and 
work as ourselves. And this was to be the siga that we were his 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 371 

disciples, thtat we loved each other. And so in truth it was ; for 
long afterward it happened that the disciples of Jesus were known 
among the heathen by being all like brothers. It was a common 
saying among the Greeks and the Romans, "Behold, how these 
Christians love one another." Thus our master created a new 
kind of love among men, and called it his "New Commandment." 

On this evening the master was so very tender to us, that we 
took courage to ask him many questions, and we talked with great 
freedom. He told us that our hearts must not be troubled because 
he left us ; that, when he had gone away, we must continue to 
trust in him, as we trusted in God. He said that there were 
many chambers in God's great house, places where every one 
would be at home and in peace ; that he would go into the unseen 
world, and there make ready a new home of love and thought, 
where we could all live happily together. He promised he would 
be with us there, " And you will come to me there, for you know 
the way." 

I find that John has recorded that I asked him then this ques- 
tion, saying, "Master, we know not whither thou goest, and how 
can we know the way? " 

He answered, saying, that, since we knew him and his truth, we 
knew the way to the Father. Because he certainly knew that God 
was the Father, by his own faith he made us also believe that 
God was near to our hearts, being our Father. If ye keep near 
me, and abide in me, then ye will also abide in the Father. I am 
the way to him : in me ye find the truth and the life which comes 
from God. This is what I am in the world for, to show men the 
way to the Father. 

And at this Philip also took courage to speak, and said, "Mas- 
ter, show us the Father, and that will be enough." And Jesus 
said, " How canst thou be with me, Philip, without seeing the 
Father ? Dost thou not see that I am always with him, and that 
he is always with me ? " Thus, my children, when ye look in a 
lake, ye see the sun, because the lake reflects the sun, and so, when 
ye look to Jesus, ye see the Father, because God is reflected in 
that heavenly spirit. "When I speak," he continued, " I do not 
speak from myself ; but this heavenly light within me tells me 
ever what to say and what to do. Let this light shine from 
my soul into yours, and ye also shall speak and act by the same 



372 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

heavenly power. Ye shall do even greater works than I have 
done ; for when I am risen up, and am nearer to God than now, 
I can help you more fully. 

" But remember this, that, if ye love me, ye must keep my 
commandments, and love each other. Then ye shall have com- 
fort ; for I shall pray God to send to you a Comforter and Friend, 
who shall be ever with you wherever ye are. This Comforter 
Avill be the spirit of truth dwelling in your hearts. Such will be, 
indeed, my coming. Ye have been expecting my coming as the 
Christ, and I shall come. My coming will be when ye have the 
spirit of love and truth, giving you strength and peace. Then 
ye will know that the Christ has come. He who now dwells 
with you shall be in you. Ye will not be orphans, for I shall 
be nearer to you than ever. When I go away outwardly from 
you, I shall come to you inwardly. The world will not see me, 
but ye will see me. Ye will know this certainly, and be sure of 
it, — sure that I am in the Father, and that ye are in me, and 
that I am in you." 

There were two of the twelve having the same name of Judas ; 
and the one who was not Judas of Karioth also spoke, and asked 
the master how it was that he would manifest himself to us, and 
not to the world. " For," said he, "will not the Christ come in 
power and glory to the whole world? "We have been taught that 
he will come visibly to all men, to punish his enemies and reward 
his friends, amid thunders and earthquakes and fire. But now 
thou speakest of coming inwardly in our hearts." 

Jesus answered, saying that false Christs come in that way, 
outwardly, with signs and wonders, but that the true Christ can 
never come, except to the soul which follows . truth and right. 
" To him the Father comes, and dwells in his heart; and, where 
the Father comes, I come also," said he, "and we make ourselves 
known to him. This is the true coming of the Christ. 

" Ye do not now understand all these words of mine, and ye 
will forget them," he added. "But, when that Holy Spirit comes 
to you from my Father, it will teach you every thing, and make 
you remember all that I have told you. Ye need not be troubled, 
or be afraid, because of any thing that happens ; for, when I go 
away, I really come to you. I give you peace, — my peace : not as 
the world giveth, give I unto you. And now, if you love me, you 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH IIIS DISCIPLES. 373 

will not be sorry, but glad on my account that I go, because I go 
to be with my Father, who is greater than I. 

" I cannot talk more with you now ; for there is a power of 
worldly evil at hand, and I must be ready to meet it, for I have 
nothing in common with it. I must do what my Father com- 
mands, and show the world that I am in the love of the Father. 
Arise, let us go hence." 

We then arose, and left the room where we had supped, and 
went to a house in Bethany to sleep. It was a place where many 
friends were around us, in their camp of tents. In this place we 
were safe from the rulers and priests. 

Conversations on the Fifth Day, which is the 15th of Nisan, and the 
Evening of the Passover. 

In reading these stories told by my brother John to his dis- 
ciples I was astonished at many things. I wondered much that 
he should be able to remember so well the very words of the 
master. I had long ago forgotten them ; but, when I read them 
as they are repeated by John to his scribe, they come back to me 
again out of the distant regions of my memory. I seem again 
to hear the master's very tones of solemn tenderness, to see the 
heavenly light of his eyes as I then saw it, and as I know that I 
shall see it again. And then I wondered, not so much that John 
could remember these things, as that I could ever have forgotten 
them. 

But while many of these sayings of Jesus have sunk so deeply 
into the loving heart of my brother John that they have been 
kept there unsullied by any mixture, as a gem is kept in its cas- 
ket, there are other sayings in which my brother's own thought 
seems mixed with that of the master. There are, again, others in 
which the sayings of Jesus are as I recollect them ; but they seem 
to be not in the right place. 

I am still more surprised at seeing how the soul of John has 
grown into a new soul under the influence of the master. The 
inward spirit, which the master promised to all his disciples, has 
bestowed on him some wonderful gifts. He was an ignorant, 
loving, passionate youth : he has grown into what our fathers 
called a seer. He does not think, or reason, or argue, as most of 
my old teachers, the scribes, did; nor does he make systems of 



374 THE LEGEND OF THOJIAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

• 

philosophy, as my teachers did in Alexandreia: but his mind rises 
toward God, as an eagle rises toward the sun. Certain great 
truths are deeply rooted in his soul: these truths shine separate 
and distinct like the stars in the sky. So shine before his mind 
the grand ideas which he indicates by such sayings, as "the 
Word," "life," "light," "love," " fello^Yship," "knowledge." 
As one star in the sky differs from another star in glory, so are 
some of these truths more glorious in the heaven of his thought 
than others. The brightest star of all to him is the star Love. 
He dwells in love, and so dwells in God. As he rested his head 
on the earthly bosom of the master at the supper, so now he 
seems to rest in spirit nearer to the master's heart than any 
other, because he hath so eaten and drunk the master's teaching 
of love. 

The spirit of truth which our master promised us, to lead us 
into all truth, brings us to the same truth, but brings us by dif- 
ferent -ways. Each receives a different gift, according to each 
man's natural capacity to hold it, as the same ^Yine is poured into 
goblets of different shapes. 

The spirit of truth makes us grow up in all things into the 
knowledge and love of Jesus, but it doth not make us all alike. 
It even seems to make us more different in the methods of our 
minds, while it makes us one in our inmost convictions. 

In Alexandreia I studied the great Greek philosophers. Plato 
and Aristotle. They also were one in many of their convictions, 
but differed widely in the action of their minds. And in reading 
the recollections of my brother John, and those sent to me by my 
old companion Paul, I perceive that John is like Plato, and Paul 
is like Aristotle. The one sees ; the other reasons : the one will- 
ingly dwells in the world of ideas; the other, in that of things 
and men. Plato, indeed, was also a reasoner, and John does not 
reason. Paul desires to show how each one of his thoughts fits 
the rest, and how the body of his belief is fitly joined together, 
and compacted by what each joint supplieth. But in John's 
mind there are no joints, no fitting of one truth to the rest : each 
stands alone. Hence it easily happens that he may not have 
given his narrations to his scribe in any proper order, and they 
may sometimes be put in wrong places. 

The fifth day of the week had now^ come, which was the prepa- 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 375 

ration of the Passover. This was the most solemn of the Jewish 
feasts, being one of annual thanksgiving for the new birth of 
the nation out of slavery into freedom. It was kept by families, 
and small groups of friends, not exceeding twenty in number, 
and not less than twelve. Each company killed and roasted a 
lamb. They were told to eat it standing round the table, in the 
posture of travellers, with their loose robes fastened up by their 
girdle, to leave the limbs free for walking. They were to have on 
their feet their travelling-shoes, and not the light sandals worn in 
the house ; and each was to have a staff in his hand. The bread 
was to be made without yeast, as a sign of haste. When the feast 
began, a cup of wine was mingled with water, and drunk with 
thanksgiving, a3 a sign of joy. Four cups of joy were to be 
drunk during the feast. 

To prepare this feast, it was necessary to begin early ; and we 
asked Jesus where we should prepare the Passover for the evening. 
Then he called Peter and John, and told them to go to Jerusalem, 
and, after they had entered the gate, to wait till they saw a man 
pass by, carrying a water-pot of water. They were to follow him 
In silence ; and, when they saw him enter a house, they must go 
in after him, and say to the owner of the house that the master 
wished to eat the Passover in his guest-chamber, with his disciples. 
The man would show them a large upper room furnished, and 
there they would make ready the Passover. This they did ; and 
it all happened as Jesus said. Peter, and some others, thought 
that the master knew these facts by some divination ; but I, who 
had observed that Jesus never performed a wonderful work in. 
order to astonish us, nor for his own benefit, judged it to be more 
probable that he had arranged beforehand with the man to have 
the room ready, and to be known to us by this sign of the pitcher. 
For it was necessary, if he would take the Passover in quiet, to 
make some such arrangement; since, if the rulers had known 
where he was to be, they might have sent soldiers to the house, 
and arrested him ; and if Judas of Karioth had known where he 
was to be, or could have learned it from the disciples before they 
went, he might have betrayed the place to the rulers. Therefore, 
in my opinion, Jesus had privately agreed beforehand with the 
master of this house to come there. 

I suppose that Judas of Karioth, whose heart was corroded by 



O/.b THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ambition and the love of money, and who believed that Jesus 
could, if he would, become master of the country, thought, that, 
if he were taken captive by the rulers, a great insurrection would 
be made, and Jesus would be forced to become king of the land. 
So he went to the house of the chief priest Kaiaphas, and said, " I 
can bring your soldiers to a place where Jesus will only have his 
disciples with him, who are twelve unarmed men. What will you 
give me to do this ? " And they agreed to give him thirty shekels. 
Then he said, " Have ready a body of the temple-guard, with safe 
officers, and I believe I shall be able to take him this very night." 
And thus it was arranged. Then he came, and asked where in the 
city we should eat the Passover, that he might betray the place to 
the rulers. But he could not learn, since we ourselves did not 
know : therefore he determined to lead the soldiers to the Garden 
of the Oil-Press, where we spent an hour or more every evening 
in conversation. 

When evening drew near, we went to the city with the multi- 
tudes. The crowd was so great, that our small party could not 
easily be found, if any one had sought for us. We came to the 
house, and entered the guest-chamber, and partook of the Passover, 
eating the roast lamb, and the unleavened bread, and the bitter 
herbs; also drinking the four cups of wine, and singing the psalms 
and the Tiallel which belonged to this season. 

And Jesus, standing in front of the table, said, "I have greatly 
desired to eat this Passover with you; for this is the last time I 
shall eat it, until it be fulfilled by a higher passover in the new 
kingdom. Let us drink this wine together for the last time. The 
wine which we shall drink together when we meet again will be 
the new wine of the kingdom of God." 

We did not know what this meant ; but afterward, when we 
had ceased to be Jews, and had become citizens of the new king- 
dom of Christ, where all men may be kings and priests unto God, 
we left behind our Jewish Passover. Then we understood what 
the master meant by his saying, "fulfilled." All that was good 
and true in the old covenant was carried up into something better 
in the new covenant. The bodily rest of the Jewish sabbath was 
fulfilled in the rest of the heart at peace with God. The grateful 
thanksgiving of the Passover for Jewish deliverance was fulfilled 
in our constant gratitude to God, who had shown us that all men 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 377 

can be saved from evil, and that death and hell shall be cast into 
the lake of fire. We needed not to kill innocent lambs by thou- 
sands every year ; for we had our one innocent Lamb, Christ our 
Passover, a Lamb slain in the counsel of God from the foundation 
of the vv^orld". 

Thus we stood around the table, and ate the supper, — the lamb 
roasted whole, the unleavened cakes of bread, and the bitter herbs. 
After our hunger was satisfied, and the lamb was eaten, and most 
of the bread, the master talked with us a long time, with tender 
love. This conversation I find in the papers of John; and, as I 
read them, the words of Jesus rise again from out my memory, 
and I see him standing before us as he then stood, his face full of 
divine light. 

He began by telling us that he was going away, and would 
leave us in a very little while. He did not use the word " death," 
as he had formerly done, when death was more distant ; nor did 
he say any thing of the Pharisees and scribes, or that 'they were 
the cause of his death: but he only said that he was going to the 
Father, and that in a little while we should not see him. And as 
we looked sad, and wondered what this meant, he smiled, and 
said, " Be not troubled. In a little while ye shall see me again ; 
for, if I go to the Father, I shall come back to you again." 

Then he said that we should be sad when he was gone ; we 
should weep and lament, while all the world around was glad and 
gay : but our sorrow should be once more turned to joy. 

He added, that, if we did not understand him then, we should 
hereafter understand what he meant ; for the spirit of truth in our 
hearts would lead us from truth to truth, till at last we should see 
all truth. Meantime, he said we should sorrow for a time; but, 
when he came to us again, we should have inward joy, which all 
the cruelty of men would not be able to take from us. We should 
not have him here to talk with ; but we should be so near the 
Father, that we might ask any thing of God. If we thought of 
Jesus when we asked, and of what he loved and desired, we should 
ask that of God. Then we should have him, as well as the Father, 
near us, and we should ask every thing in his name and for his 
sake, when we asked in his spirit, and then should be full of joy. 
He said he did not mean by this that he should pray the Father 
for us. He did not wish us to depend on his intercession, but to 



378 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

believe that the Father himself loves us. ^Ye might know that he 
loves us, because we saw God's love in the love of Jesus. Because 
Jesus was in the Father, and the Father in him, therefore, when 
we loved Jesus, we loved the Father; when we believed in him, 
we believed in the Father ; for Jesus came from the Father, and 
remained with the Father, and was now going to the Father. 

Then we cried out joyfully, "Yes, it is indeed so: now we 
understand thee well. This is all plain ; for we see God as our 
Father while thou art with us. Thy words go directly to our 
heart, and thou knowest exactly what we need." 

Jesus then said, " Yes, my children, you now believe in me ; 
but the hour is almost here when your fear will overcome your 
faith, and you will all forsake me, and leave me alone. But when 
ye think of it afterward, and remember how ye deserted me, ye 
must not think that ye left me alone; for the Father is ever with 
me. How, then, can I be alone?" 

And we were alarmed at this. Jesus continued, " Be not aston- 
ished too much. Doth not the Scripture say, ' I will smite the 
shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered ' ? "We must not ex- 
pect the sheep to be bold when the shepherd is stricken down. 
What will happen to me to-night will disturb the faith of you 
all. You will all lose your faith in me for a time." Peter said, 
" Even if all the rest lose their faith in thee, I will not lose mine. 
Whither art thou going, master? Let me go too." Jesus said, 
" !N'ot now, Peter; but hereafter thou shalt come to me." Peter 
answered, "Why not now, master? I will go to prison and to 
death with thee gladly." Jesus answered, "There is a Satan in 
thy heart, Peter, a Tempter: he will try thee sorely, and sift the 
chaff out of thee. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith 
shall not wholly give way. '^"NTien thou hast passed through this 
trial, and come out strong, then remember thine own weakness, 
and forgive the weakness of others. Strengthen and encourage 
them, but do not rebuke them." Peter, still full of trust in 
himself, which I suppose was the Satan Jesus meant, said with 
much determination, " Master, I will lay down my life for thy 
sake." Then Jesus looked at him, and said, "Peter, this very 
night, before the cocks crow the second time for morning, thou wilt 
deny me." Peter became much roused by this, and said ear- 
nestly, " Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 379 

And we also, carried away by his excitemePxt, said, •' Neither will 
we deny thee, nor forsake thee." 

Jesus said no more concerning this matter, but asked us if we 
recollected the time when he sent us out without money, or any 
thing to eat, or garments other than those we wore. " Did ye 
then need any thiug? " 

We answered, " No, the people where we went gave us readily 
all we needed." 

Then he continued, " Ye must not depend on this hereafter. 
Ye went among friends then : hereafter ye will go forth sur- 
rounded by enemies. It will be necessary to take purse and scrip 
and sword. Then men loved us, believing we came to do them 
good: now they will hate us, being made to believe that we are 
their enemies." We foolishly thought that he really meant us to 
take our swords with us, and said, "Master, we have two swords 
here; " and he, seeing we did not understand, said, "Enough of 
this. One day, when the Comforter comes, ye will understand 
all things. 

" Remember this in the day of trial, that ye did not choose me, 
but that I have chosen you. Trust that I knew what I did, that 
I saw more in you than ye can see in yourselves. I saw in you 
the power of bringing forth much fruit, and fruit of a good and 
lasting kind. 

"If the world hate you, remember that it hated me before. It 
hates you because I have chosen you out of the world : therefore 
love one another, as I have loved you. When they persecute you, 
be not astonished, but remember that I told you that it would be 
so. When ye think of all I have said and done for you, ye will 
have peace in me. Ye will have tribulation in the world ; but be 
of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 

Having said these words, and many others like them, during the 
supper, when it was finished, and we had eaten the lamb as the 
law commanded, and drunk the last cup of wine, Jesus said, 
" Now I wish you to do something in memory of me. I told you 
once that ye must eat me and drink me, and make my life a part 
of your life." Then he took a piece of the crisp, unleavened cake 
from the table, and broke it into little pieces, and uttered over it 
a prayer of blessing, and gave each a piece. 

How tender was tliat prayer ! It asked that we might be all 



380 THE LEGEKD OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. 

one, — one with him, one with the Father, one with each other. It 
asked that we might have life within our souls, making us con- 
scious of immortality, — the life eternal, which is to know God as 
our Father, and to know Jesus as the Christ sent by him. He 
prayed God to keep us, and guard us as he himself had done, hav- 
ing only lost one, the one who chose to be lost. He said he would 
not pray that we should be taken out of the world, but that we 
should be kept safe from the evil. As he prayed, he only thought 
of us, lived for us, and seemed ready to die for us. And to think 
that so soon we should all forsake him! 

Then he took the wine, and said, " This bread and wine, it is 
my body and my blood : ye are eating and drinking my body and 
blood ; for soon my body will be broken like this bread, and my 
blood poured out like this wine. I am the victim to ratify the 
new covenant, and my blood will be shed for the forgiveness of 
the sins of many. As often as ye drink this cup, remember me." 

Then he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, as if talking 
with a dear friend close by, — 

"Father, the hour has come. I have finished the work thou 
gavest me to do. I have manifested thy name to the men thou 
gavest me out of the world ; I have given to them the words 
thou gavest me ; I have kept them in thy name ; I have sent them 
into the world as thou didst send me into the world ; and I have 
given them the glory thou gavest me, the glory I had with thee 
before the world was. Nor do I pray only for them, but for all 
who shall believe on me through their word ; that, as I am one 
with thee, they may also be one, I in them, and tliou in me ; that 
they may be perfectly one ; that the love wherewith thou hast 
loved me may be in them, and I in them. 

"And now, O Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may 
glorify thee. I have glorified thee on the earth ; I am glorified in 
those thou hast given me ; for all mine are thine, and thine are 
mine, and I am glorified in them. Sanctify them through thy 
truth. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they, too, may 
be sanctified through the truth." 

Thus he spoke, and his words sank deep into our souls. And 
each took the cup from his hands, as each had taken the bread 
from his hands; for we were all standing at this supper, around 
the table, as our customs required, and not reclining, as we were the 



LAST CONYERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 381 

evening before. It may therefore be easily seen that it was at the 
previous supper, and not at the Paschal Supper, that Judas received 
the warning, and left our company; for then we were reclining, 
and at the Paschal Supper the Jews usually stood up. Then, also, 
there was a dish of gravy into which to dip the sop ; but at the 
Paschal Supper gravy was not allowed. Then, also, each dipped 
in the dish with a sop of soft bread ; but at the Paschal Supper 
there was no soft bread, but only unleavened bread, which is hard 
and dry. Hence it may be seen that the scribe who wrote down 
the account given by John of these two suppers, by mistake put 
them together, as if there was only one. 

You know, my children, that when we meet on the first day 
of the week, in memory of the ascension of Jesus from death to 
life, we break a loaf in pieces, and divide it among all present, in 
memory of Jesus, and as a sign of our union. This we continue 
to do in memory of his great love for us all, and for those also 
who shall believe on him through our word. He did not take any 
of the meat from the table, but the bread and the wine ; for bread 
is among us the sign of strength, and wine of joy. Jesus is the 
wine which makes glad the heart of man, and he is the bread 
which strengthens man's heart. 

You have sometimes asked me, my children, why the master 
spoke so much, in these last hours, of his being "glorified," and 
of the " glory " which he had himself, and would give to his dis- 
ciples ; for surely he did not desire what men call glory, since 
he told us how he had resisted and overcome that temptation. 
He did not wish to be praised, or be so honored of men ; and yet 
he wished to be honored by men, even as the Father is honored. 
And how is the Father honored? "Herein," said he, "is my 
Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." The glory of the 
sun is not in being praised, but in shining, and, by shining, fill- 
ing the world with light. God is glorified when his truth and 
love are seen and felt, and when men are thereby filled with 
goodness. Christ glorified God, not by causing men to praise 
him, but by being the mediator of God's love and truth to his 
children. This he had done on earth among his own people ; 
but, when he was lifted up in death, he became the manifes- 
tation of God to the whole human family. Then he gave to all 
mankind that eternal life which is to know God as our Father, 



382 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYliroS. 

and to know Jesus as the Son who brings us to the Father. "When 
he prayed to God to glorify the Son, that the Son might glorify 
him, he asked to be the mediator of this heavenly truth and love to 
all mankind. This was the only glory he sought, to reveal God to 
all men as their friend. And this glory which God gave him he 
gave to his disci2:>les, that they also might manifest the Father to 
the world. 

Presently we arose, after singing a hymn, and left the house. 
We left the city, and crossed the brook Kedron, and went to the 
Garden of the Oil-Press. There a strange thing happened, a 
great struggle in the mind of the master. To the joy and tri- 
umph of his interview with us there followed a great depression. 
He went away with Peter, James, and John, to a remote part of 
the garden, and there (as they told me afterward) he endured a 
great agony. In this agony he prayed that the cup might pass 
from him, and prayed so earnestly, that one would think God 
could not help granting his prayer. He prayed again and again 
that the cup might pass, but added, that if it might not pass, 
then that God's will should be done. 

This agony and prayer seemed to me very strange. The sud- 
den change from the triumph and peace just before expressed in 
his prayer at the supper was strange. Then he looked on his 
work in the world as done ; then he declared that he was about 
to leave the world, and go to the Father. He told us, that if we 
loved him, we should rejoice that he was to go to his Father, and 
he spoke of his death as giving him the glory with God ordained 
for him before the foundation of the world. He had been pre- 
paring us for his immediate death as part of the plan of God for 
the salvation of the world ; he spoke of his blood as the blood 
which should seal the new covenant : why, then, did he now pray 
that the cup might pass? Another strange thing regarding this 
prayer was, that it seemed to contradict his own repeated sayings, 
that he was about to die, and that the Scriptures could not be ful- 
filled but by his death. Already, before Ave left Galilee, he spoke 
of his death as certain, and as about to take place at Jerusalem, 
at this feast. How, then, could he believe it possible that he 
should not die ? 

Meditating on this afterward, I thought that the very agony and 
anguish of this prayer was but another evidence of the grandeur 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 383 

of the soul of our master. A large mind sees the good and evil 
on both sides of an event. Jesus had seen the good that would 
come to the world by his death, how the religion of Moses and 
El-jah would break the narrow banks of the Jewish ritual, and 
flow forth freely to be a blessing to the human race. The God 
and Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would become the 
Father of all good and true souls in every land and nation. 
God would be glorified ; for his truth and love would radiate, 
like the light of the sun, over all shores and climes. This was 
the good that would come from his death; and therefore he said, 
"I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." 

But there was another vast good which might come if he did 
not die, and great evils which would be prevented. His death 
was the ruin of his people : his life, its only hope of safety. If 
even yet they would take him as their Christ, their peaceful 
Christ, as one whose kingdom was not of this world, as one 
who would reign by bearing witness to the truth, then they might 
be God's chosen people again in a higher way than ever ; then 
all human hatreds being put out of the way, the nation, having 
learned to love its enemies, would return the cruelties of Rome 
by teaching it the love of God and man ; then the whole people 
would be missionaries of love to mankind ; then Jerusalem would 
be the holy metropolis of the world ; then the whole temple would 
be made a house of prayer for all nations. If the Jewish heart 
of stone could become a heart of flesh, all this might be : if not, 
if the cup might not pass, then Jesus saw the horrible destruction 
which must come from the spirit of hatred now working in the 
mind of the people. This was the bitterness of the cup ; not his 
own anguish on the cross, but the long tortures his nation was 
to bear, slaughtered by thousands in the war of rebellion, driven 
into exile, scattered, and nailed to the cross of persecution in all 
lands for many years. That this was the poison in the cup ap- 
peared to me from what he said on his way to death, " Daughters 
of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your 
children." 

But did he not believe his death certain, since he had predicted 
it himself, and that so often ? And if, as a prophet, he foresaw 
that it was decreed by God that he should die, liow could he pray 
not to die, or say, " If it be possible " ? It was because with God 



384 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTlVroS. 

all things are possible. It was because the greatest prophet sees 
no future event as certain. He sees events approaching ; he sees 
them coming nearer and nearer ; he sees them close at hand : but 
even at the last moment they may be turned aside. What is 
certain in his foresight is the substance, but it may arrive in a 
different form. That God should be manifested to all men as the 
universal Father was certain ; but that he should be manifested 
by the salvation or the destruction of the Jewish nation was 
something which belonged not to the substance, but to the form, 
of the prophetic vision. 

I early learned from the great Plato that the future is foreseen 
by the prophet, because its seeds are already in the present. The 
prophet sees the seed, and foresees the plant. The prophet is 
therefore a seer, and his foresight comes from his insight. Hence 
it was that Jesus often said, " The hour cometh, and now is." 

Jesus did not explain to us the sources of his anguish, or the 
nature of his agony. At that time none of us would have been 
able to understand it. Yet so much did he wish for human sym- 
pathy, that he could not bear to be entirely alone. For this rea- 
son he took with him the three who were nearest, — Simon called 
Peter, James, and the Beloved One, — and asked them to watch 
near him while he went a little way, and prayed. And they, 
watching, saw his dreadful anguish, and heard his cry, " Abba ! 
Abba ! " Three times he praj^ed, saying, " All things are possible 
to thee, O Father ! " And after a time he came back to the three, 
and found them asleep ; for their sorrow, fear, and anxiety had 
oppressed their souls, and their bodies were weak. But, when he 
came, they wakened suddenly, and he said, " Could ye not watch 
with me one hour ? " Thus, finding so little sympathy from man, 
he turned again to God. Alas ! how weak we were, how ignorant ! 
how little did we understand him ! how little were we able to help 
him ! We could do nothing but love him ; but that human love 
was dear to him, and gave him some comfort. He knew our 
spirits were willing, though our flesh was weak. 

We who sat in the other part of the garden also slept, but were 
suddenly awakened by the flash of torches, and the noise of many 
footsteps. A band of soldiers, sent by the high priest and the 
Sanhedrim, came to the garden ; and Judas of Karioth led the 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 385 

way. The soldiers stood, around the wall of the garden on all 
sides, to prevent escape. But there was no need ; for Jesus came 
toward them, meeting Judas first, who said, " Hail, master ! " and 
kissed him. And Jesus, looking at him, said, "Judas, betrayest 
thou the Son of man with a kiss? " Then Judas turned, and fled 
away. Meantime the soldiers, and some of the priests and elders, 
who were a little way behind, came forward quickly, thinking to 
seize Jesus before he should escape. But, as they hurried tumultu- 
ously on through the trees, they met him coming calmly toward 
them. And I, who had run forward also, to see what would 
take place, saw him at this moment, his whole person full of 
power, and his face radiant with divine liglit ; for he, like Moses, 
had just come down from the mountain where he talked with 
God. As the priests and rulers, stumbling forward in their haste, 
came unexpectedly on this heavenly apparition, they were startled. 
Those nearest to him fell backward, and, coming with a shock 
against those next behind, these were pushed over, and one fell 
down. But, collecting themselves again, they came up to him. 
He said calmly, "Whom seek ye?" The chief ruler answered, 
"Jesus of Nazareth." Moving toward them a step, he said, "I 
am he." Knowing the strange power he possessed over nature, I 
think a fear took possession of them, lest, perchance, he might 
strike them down ; for again they started backward in confusion, 
and pushed each other ovei^ Again Jesus calmly said, "Whom 
seek ye?" And when they again replied, "Jesus of Nazareth," 
he answered, " I am he. If it is I whom ye seek, take me ; but 
let these disciples of mine go their way." One of the men lifted 
his hand to seize the master. Then Peter cried out, " Let us de- 
fend him," and, drawing his sword, struck at the head of the 
man. But Peter's sword, glancing down, struck his ear, and cut 
off a piece of it. I saw the man afterward. He was a servant of 
the high priest, and his name was Malchus. He said to me that 
Jesus immediately told Peter to put up his sword, for that God 
had given to him this cup, and that he must drink it. " Then," 
said Malchus, " he put his hand on my ear, and instantly a cool- 
ness ran through it, and the blood stopped running from the 
wound, and after this I felt no more pain." 

But the soldiers came forward, and bound the hands of Jesus. 
While they were binding him, he said to the priests and rulers 



386 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

who had come with the soldiers, " Am I a thief, that ye have to 
come to arrest me thus, in the night-time and secretly ? I have 
been tea"ching openly in the temple during these last days. Why 
did ye not take me then, before the whole people, if I am guilty 
of any crime ? But the night is your hour; and your power is in 
darkness, not light." 

Little heeding his words, and rejoiced that they had at last got 
him into their possession, they hurried him away to the house of 
Annas, by whose orders they had come. Annas directed them to 
take Jesus to the Palace of Kaiaphas, where the Sanhedrim had 
already assembled, in expectation of his arrest. They had deter- 
mined that he should be tried and condemned this same night, 
so that the people might not know of it, and that no rescue might 
be attempted. It was now late, being after midnight; and by 
their law it was illegal to pass sentence during the night; yet they 
decided to have the trial at once, though it could not legally be 
concluded before daybreak. They sat in a hall opening out of 
the inner court. The seats were in a half-circle ; and Jesus stood 
bound before them. 

All of us acted as Jesus had foreseen: we had forsaken him, 
and fled. A great terror came over us. "We escaped from the 
garden, and ran for a short distance up the side of the moun- 
tain, on the way to Bethany; then we stopped, feeling safe, and 
looked round. We saw the torches descending toward the bottom 
of the valley, showing us that the priests and soldiers were taking 
our master back to the city. Peter said, "I will follow at a dis- 
tance, and see where they take him;" and John said, "I will go 
likewise; and we will then return to Bethany, and tell you what 
is done." So they followed, going toward Jerusalem; and we 
went, amazed and sorrowful, to Bethany. 

We reached Bethany a little after midnight, and hastened to 
tell the terrible news to all our friends. IMany women, among 
whom was the mother of Jesus, and Miriam of Migdol, were 
together, and were awake when we came. Some sense of ap- 
proaching evil kept them from sleep. As soon as they heard of 
the arrest, they expressed their terror and grief, each according 
to her own manner. The mother of Jesus sat down in silence, 
her face in her hands, and said nothing, except a few words 
which showed she had lost all hope. " This is the end," said she 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 387 

in a low voice; "the end of all. He was too great, too good, too 
pure, to live. But I would see him once again ! " Then she 
quietly rose, and prepared to go to the city, though it was the 
dead of night. Miriam and the other women arose to go too ; but 
Miriam took me apart, and said, "Thomas, he must be rescued. 
Bring together all our friends who love him and have courage, 
and follow us immediately to the city." So saying, they went out. 
The full moon was looking down from the mid-heavens, calm as 
ever, tranquil as if all the affairs of men were indifferent to her. 
I stood a moment, while the forms of the women disappeared 
under the shadows of the trees, and the sound of their steps died 
away into the silent night. At last I roused myself, and went 
toward the tents where many of our friends of Galilee M^ere 
sleeping. I awakened them, and called on them to go with me 
to the city, and deliver the master. But then I learned the differ- 
ence between a crowd of men all roused and moved by a common 
sympathy, and the same men when apart from each other, at a 
distance from the scene of action, and when their passions had 
grown cool. Each asked what the others would do. No one 
would take the lead. They said it was better to wait till morning, 
and then go together to the city. They thought there would be 
no danger in waiting; for the trial must take a long time, and a. 
plan could be arranged to rescue him in season, if it became 
necessary to do so. Finding it impossible to move them, I gave 
up the attempt in despair, and followed to the city after the others. 

I had been so long in making this effort, that the cocks in the 
neighboring villages crew at the second crowing when we left 
Bethany. The gray light of morning now began to appear. As 
Matthew and I passed hastily over the path which we had so often 
trodden with Jesus within the last few days, we remembered what 
he had said of his approaching death. He really knew that he 
was to die. But, if so, why did he say that he was to appear 
immediately as the Christ? All was confusion in our minds, 
but a great gloom and fear rested on us both. We dreaded what 
we might learn when we should reach the city. 

As we crossed the summit of the mountain, and began to de- 
scend, the first rays of the sun rising behind us beamed on the 
city, and on the great i^yramid of the temple, which rose in front, 
court above court. Above all was the Holy Place ; and the sun 



388 THF LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DLDT^HrS. 

gleamed on the golden vines and clusters of golden grapes in 
front of it. Yet it was the priests of Yahveh, the priests of this 
sacred shrine, who were about to murder our master. 

As we entered the city, two men came toward us, with wild 
looks. Directly we saw that they were Peter and John. Peter 
cried out, " Woe is me, Thomas! I have done as he foretold. I 
have denied him again and again, coward and liar that I am! " 
But John said, ""Where are our friends ? I fear all is lost. He 
hath been condemned to death by the council as an impostor and 
false prophet. They have taken him to Pilate to have the sen- 
tence executed. They are doing every thing as quickly as pos- 
sible to prevent any rising of the people in his favor. They 
have surrounded the palace of the Roman governor with their 
soldiers and friends, so that we cannot get "near it to know what 
is done. Our only hope now is, that the governor will refuse to 
confirm their sentence ; or, if not, that there will be delay enough 
to allow our friends to come into the city, and rescue him by force 
from the soldiers " But I was obliged to reply that a certain 
panic seemed to have seized our people, and they could not be 
roused. 

So Peter and John turned, and we went back together to the 
house of the governor, a stone building called Antonia, a tall 
fort joining the temple. It was surrounded by a great multitude 
of Pharisees and priests and their friends, and the guard of the 
temple, and they would not let us come near. And there, col- 
lected together, we found our women, and many other women who 
loved the master, and many friends whom they had called together, 
yet too few to attempt any thing. We could only wait, and see 
■what might happen. 

How tedious the hours seemed! Sometimes one of our num- 
ber would go near to the crowd of priests and soldiers, and try to 
learn what was going on within. And the soldiers would taunt 
us, saying, " He is being scourged." Then they said, " They have 
crowned him king, and are worshipping him." But they laughed 
when they said it, and we knew it was some insult ; for they were 
mocking him, and making a jest of liis sufferings. 

But after a while, about three hours after sunrise, we saw a 
movement in the crowd before the gates of the fort ; and a com- 
pany of Roman soldiers came forth, with Jesus and two other 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 389 

men bound in the midst. They began to move to the left along 
the street which leads to the Western Gate. Jesus and the other 
two men each carried on their shoulders two heavy wooden posts, 
one long, and the other short. We asked each other, " What is it 
they are carrying?" A Roman soldier turned, and said, "The 
wood for their crosses." A deep groan burst from our bosoms. 
The mother of Jesus became pale. I glanced at Miriam. Her 
teeth were set close, her eyes raised to heaven, and her lips moved 
as though she were asking God to send a troop of angels to prevent 
the crime. 

No such event happened. We followed the soldiers, and the 
priests who surrounded the soldiers, as if to make another guard. 
And so they passed along the street to the city wall, and went out 
by the valley gate. Here Jesus stumbled and fell, unable to bear 
the great bars of wood any farther. The centurion who command- 
ed the troop, seeing this, ordered a man who was just entering the 
gate from the country to take the cross from Jesus, and carry it for 
him. And he did so. 

Meantime many women of Jerusalem who had seen and heard 
the master, had come together, and stood outside the city gate. 
Jesus, relieved from the burden of the heavy pieces of wood, rose 
to his feet. Moved by sympathy, the women began to weep and 
sob, knowing what he was soon to suffer. 

As I was afterward told, Jesus had hardly spoken since his 
arrest. He had said little before the Sanhedrim, or before Pilate, 
seeing clearly in his mind what was to be. But now, touched by 
these womanly tears, he spoke while the soldiers were placing the 
pieces of wood on the shoulders of the countryman. " Daughters 
of Jerusalem," said he, " weep not for me, but weep for yourselves 
and your children." Then he told them that the days were com- 
ing in which those who had mourned that they were childless 
w^ould thank God that they were not mothers, and when the mis- 
ery would be so great that they would call on the rocks to bury 
them out of sight of such dreadful woe. For he saw that his 
nation was dying at its roots, hardened in forms, so as to be not 
only without life, but to hate the living truth and the heavenly 
love offered to it. Such a nation was already half-dead, and was 
hastening toward its terrible end. There was no hope for it, no 
future. 



390 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY3IUS. 

The place where the Romans put to death their criminals was 
a little way outside the walls, on a round hill of rock called 
" Bald-head," or " Skull." Here they made crosses of the wood, 
fastening the pieces together with cords. Then there was a little 
silence broken by shrieks, and we knew they were nailing the two 
malefactors to the crosses. But, when the dreadful nails were 
driven into the tender flesh of the master, we heard no shrieks. 
The centurion afterward told one who told me, that, when they 
were driving the spikes into the hands of Jesus, he was praying 
earnestly that God would forgive them, because they were doing 
this cruelty in their ignorance. And this caused the centurion to 
wonder at such a mighty tenderness of soul : therefore he watched 
him, and listened to see what else he might say. During all the 
long hours of his tortures, he said that Jesus uttered no word of 
anger, no cry of complaint, but bore it all so meekly, that he, 
though a hard Roman soldier, was touched by it, and said, " I 
know not who he is; but he seems like a demigod, or a son of the 
gods." He said, also, that Jesus prayed, and once uttered a loud 
sad cry, followed by words in the language of the Jews, which 
they told him was from a psalm of the Jewish King David, uttered 
when David was also in great suffering. 

But I waited at a distance till I saw the three crosses, with the 
men bound to them, lifted into the air ; then I could bear it no 
longer, and turned and hastened back, going through the city. 
I said, " It is done, all is over. This hope, also, has ended in 
despair. There can be no God, or he would not have suffered 
such an awful calamity. Other evils may turn to good, but there 
is no good to come from this. The world has lost what can never 
be regained. I have thought of this man as capable of raising 
the human race out of its woes and sins. He was the only one on 
earth who could do it, and he has been destroyed by these hard- 
hearted bigots. The hope of the world has died with him." 

I spoke thus to myself, hastening through the narrow streets. 
Men were going about their business as if no such event were 
taking place. As I met them, they were laughing and talking, not 
knowing what a desolation had come to them and to all of us. 
One whom I knew came up cheerfully to speak to me of some com- 
mon matter; but, seeing in my face my despair, he stopped, and 
said, " What is the matter, Thomas ? Has any thing happened? " 



LAST CONVERSATIONS OF JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 391 

I muttered something of what they were doing; and he said more 
gravely, " Oh, yes I I heard that three criminals were to be executed 
this morning on Bald-head." I hastened away. I met some of 
our Galileans, who began to ask what I knew about it. But I left 
them, for my heart was too full to speak. I longed to be alone. 

I crossed over Kedron, and ascended the Mount of Olives; but, 
instead of turning to the right to Bethany, I kept on by the road 
leading north to the high summit above Gibeon. I climbed to the 
top of this peak, and sat down. From this lofty elevation I looked 
to the west, over the plain of the Philistines, to where the sea 
stretched into a pale distance. Turning round, I saw far away the 
walls of Jerusalem from w'hich I had fled. There this dreadful 
tragedy was still going on. It was now about noon : the sun was 
high up in the south. Three hours he had been suffering: how 
much longer he must bear it, who could tell ? 

As I looked, dark shadows began to fall around me : great black 
clouds were rolling up from the sea, and all the land of the Phi- 
listines lay in shade. The clouds rose up higher, and hid the sun. 
A darkness like that of night fell over the whole country. "Yes," 
said I, " when man is silent, nature speaks. The people of Jeru- 
salem care nothing for what is happening. They do not care that 
the greatest and best of all men is dying in agony outside of the 
city; but the Sun is ashamed to look on this deed of Satan, and 
hides his face ; the Earth puts on a mourning dress ; the Skies weep 
for this greatest of all prophets." As I said this, there came a 
low rumbling sound ; and, though the storm had not yet come, the 
trees began to lash their branches. Directly I felt the earth shak- 
ing under me ; and some of the rocks were dislodged, and rolled 
down the side of the peak. Then there came another deep rum- 
bling sound, passing away toward the sea of death. I started to my 
feet in terror; but in a moment all was over, and the stillness 
returned. Then I knew that this was what the Greeks call seismos, 
or earth-shaking; and it seemed to me that the earth and the 
heavens both sympathized with the sufferings of a soul mightier 
than they. And I remembered his words, " Tf these should hold 
.their peace, the very rocks w^ould cry out." Men throngh coward- 
ice held their peace, and the rocks were already speaking. 

I sat a long time on this summit. After some hours the sky 
became clear again ; but the darkness in ray soul grew deeper than 



392 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ever. " Either there is no God," I thought, " or he takes no note 
of human affairs. Evil, and not good, are supreme in this world. 
Falsehood is mighty, and truth is feeble against it. Force and 
cunning rule the world. The priests rule by their cunning: the 
Komans, by their swords." My unbelief returned, and I despaired 
of the triumph of good over evil. 

By the depth of my present despair I saw how much I had 
hoped. While with Jesus, I had begun to believe again in God 
and immortality, and that good was real and all-powerful. Now 
this hope was suddenly taken away. "Nothing can ever bring it 
back," I said, " nothing. There never was such goodness in the 
world, never such wisdom as his ; and this great light has been 
quenched. This loss can never be made good to mankind. If 
there were a God, he could not have allowed it. 

"And, more than this, Jesus must have been deceived himself in 
thinking that he was to be the Christ, the King. Though so wise, 
he was not wise enough to know that his goodness could not con- 
quer evil. He made a mistake in thinking that the world can be 
redeemed by truth and love. He had almost brought me to believe 
this too. If he were mistaken in this, then the rest of his teaching 
must be untrue; for this belief ran through it all." 

I flung myself on the earth with a sob of utter misery, saying, — 

" I have lost my master ! I have lost my God ! " 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 393 



CHAPTER XIX. 

letter from ben tabbai, a sadducee, at jerusalem, to 

sulpicius, an epicurean, at rome. the dream o'? 

Pilate's wife, written to sabina popp^a, her sister, 

IN ROME. • 

LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 

Written on the Feast of Lots, 
The Fifteenth Day of the Month Adar. 

Health and salutation. I send thee these tablets that thou 
mayst understand that my friendship for thee is unabated, and to 
entertain thee with the account of events which- are taking place 
in our land. As a philosopher, thou wilt be interested in hearing 
of our struggles with the superstitions of the East, many of which 
find their home in this city. If I am tedious in my story, forgive 
me; for, being far from the great centre of interest where thou 
livest, my thoughts may appear to thee trivial. 

At present my mind is much occupied with the history of a 
youth whom men call a vates, or prophet. Thou knowest already 
the violent desire which has long possessed the mind of our nation 
to have a king of its own, and to become an autonomy, governing 
itself. All the East hath long been like a boiling pot, which throws 
to the surface scum, and sometimes tumultuously froths over. To 
shake off the iron rule of Rome, and unite the East in one great 
monarchy, hath now for a century been the hope of our nation. 
They talk of this Coming King, and give him the name of Messi- 
as, or, in Greek, Kristos. Many of our sacred poets have sung of 
the Saturnian age which will return, — another age of gold, such 
as thy Maro, and our Isaiah, and the sibyls, have described. All 
wars will then cease, and justice return to earth. Sin shall disap- 
pear, and the glory of the gods fill the world. 



394 THE LEGEND OF THOJIAS, CALLED DIDYMUS- 

But thou and I, excellent Sulpicius,. taught by our great mas- 
ter, know that the gods do not hitervene in human affairs at the 
present time. Once, indeed, they may have done so ; and Jove 
(whom we call Yahveh) hath sometimes in our history done won- 
ders for this people. But such wonders have long ago ceased. 
No mighty signs are now Avrought, but all things go on by the laws 
of nature and the free will of man. 

Let me now speak of this young man who hath recently ap- 
peared among us. What I first saw in his conduct deserving of 
attention was his open war against the Separate Ones, or Pharisees 
as we call them. This is a body united by strict oaths, and pro- 
fessing superior piet3^ They govern the people, and steal their 
hearts by many ostentatious prayers, and much austerity in their 
religious fasts. They stand praying in the streets, seeming to be 
absorbed in holy meditation. They hate us greatly because we 
will not accept their traditions, but insist, instead, on believing and 
obeying only what Moses hath commanded in his written books. 

Somehow it seems to me, my Sulpicius, that religion and virtue 
do not go together. These Pharisees who profess so much piety, 
are full of covetousness, falsehood, and bitter hatred against those 
who do not believe like themselves, and who go not with them. 
Our body (who are called Sadducees by the people) believe only 
in good works. The law of Moses is a command to do certain 
actions, and not to do other actions. It tells us, that, if a man 
does right, he shall be full of peace, if wrong, of discontent. 
Moses nowhere commands men to pray ; nor does he say that 
Yahveh (who is the only God of our nation) desires to hear prayers ; 
nor does Moses say any thing of punishments and rewards in 
another world, nor of a life in Paradise or Hades. Therefore our 
party hold that no man is obliged to believe these things unless he 
chooses to do so. For these reasons the Pharisees abhor us great- 
ly; but we have on our side the most educated and wise among 
the rulers, also the men of wealth, and the chief priests. 

The youth of whom I speak is called Jesus, and comes from 
the northern part of the land, where the religion of the people is 
more simple than ours. He has been to our great feasts in this 
city, and talks to the people in the courts of the temple. He speaks 
neither like a prophet, in lofty language, denouncing woe on the 
nations, nor like the Scribes, who use oratorical phrases, and argu- 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 395 

merits from the text of the Scriptures. But he talks like one of 
the people, and they listen with joy. His words are very plain, 
but full of pith and nourishment. He always says something which 
men can remember with advantage. 

We have had many prophets in our nation, who were full of 
courage, but who despised prudence. Courage and prudence are 
opposites, and seldom united. Yet, as Plato teaches, neither is 
perfect without the other. Courage without prudence is not cour- 
age, but only rashness : prudence also, not joined with courage, is 
not prudence, but cowardice. Our prophets were bold, but impru- 
dent : they uttered words of fiery rebuke, whether men would 
hear, or whether they would forbear. But Jesus teaches his 
disciples that they must be willing to die on the cross for their 
doctrine; and yet, if men in one city will not hear them, they are 
to leave it, and go to another. Thus, in one of his stories, he 
taught how a wicked steward cheated his master by a skilful con- 
trivance, and the master commended his wisdom, showing, that, 
while the knavery was bad, the wisdom was good. Some of my 
friends found fault with this story, saying that it praised a man 
for his knavery. But to me it seemed, that, when he praised a dis- 
honest prudence, it was clear that prudence alone w^as commended. 
If the steward had been honestly prudent, the hearers might have 
missed the point, and thought it was the honesty that was praised. 

He has courage enough, this youth : he dares attack the men of 
the Separate Society, and tells them that they do their good works 
to be seen of men. We, the followers of Zadok, are of course 
well pleased to hear these things said of our enemies. Once he 
told a story of a tax-gatherer whom all men despise, as going to 
pray in one of the courts of the temple. He said that a Pharisee 
was there too ; but the Pharisee went up near to the altar, and 
stood alone, where all could see him, thanking God that he was 
better than other men, because of his fasts and prayers and tithes. 
He said in his prayer that he was not an extortioner, like the pub- 
licans. Then he described the tax-gatherer (whom you call Pub- 
licanus) standing below in the Court of the Gentiles, and humbly 
confessing his sins. And Jesus declared that God heard the prayer 
of the tax-gatherer, and pardoned his sins because of his humility, 
but rejected the Pharisee because of his pride. Thus this youth 
unites courage and prudence in his teaching and life. 



396 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I never before knew one in whom religion and virtue were in 
full accord. He walks in the presence of God, but he makes 
no presence to piety. Apparently he does not believe in fasts or 
ceremonies more than I do ; and, if he prays, he does not do it 
in public. He shows men how to do good, and to avoid evil. 

Moreover, he makes a language for himself out of all visible 
things. All the creatures of God, and all the doings of men, fur- 
nish him with similitudes and arguments. He is a man of genius, 
and utters unwritten poetry. Many of us go to hear him, attracted 
by his eloquence; and we wonder how an uneducated peasant can 
utter in his common talk aphorisms, fables, and maxims equal to 
those which tradition has handed down from the sages of the past. 
Nature is to him full of symbols : in all common things he finds 
some moral. The leaven which the housekeeper puts into the 
dough to make it rise shows him the law by which truth works 
unseen in human history. Seeds put into good ground, on the 
rocks, on the trodden road, or among thorns, represent instruction 
given to docile hearers, to shallow-minded hearers, to those whose 
minds are full of worldly cares, or pre-occupied with selfish pur- 
poses. The lilies, purple and scarlet, on the hillside, and the wild 
doves winging their way over the lake, speak to him of the univer- 
s5al providence which feeds and clothes plants and birds, and can 
be trusted to take care of us in our needs. He once took a little 
child in his arms, and said, "You must all become children before 
you can even see my kingdom. Only a child's eyes can see what 
is divine." Bread to him means strength ; wine means joy. Water 
bubbling up in a spring tells of the soul into which love is flowing 
forever. Young shoots grafted into an old stock teach how each 
person can keep his own separate nature, and yet draw life from a 
common source. AYlieat and tares growing together in the field 
show that evils are allowed to continue by the side of good till the 
great harvest. A shepherd looking for his one lost sheep amid 
the night and storm, is a sign that God will not lose his care and 
tenderness for us when we wander away from him. A blind man 
is not so blind to outer things as a jirejudiced man is to the truth 
he dislikes. A little seed which hath wrapped iu it the power of 
becoming a great tree is the type of the truth, M'hich seems insig- 
nificant, but may grow up into a great institution. Thus all he 
sees around him suggests some spiritual meaning, and all that 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 397 

happens in the street or shop is the hieroglyphic character which 
implies something which happens in the soul. 

Then he tells stories, which I find very interesting, and also full 
of sagacity. Many are entertained by them, and do not "see how 
skilfully he teaches some truth by the story. But, when you study 
these little tales, you are surprised at the wisdom of the story- 
teller. Our rabbis have long been accustomed to teach in this 
way, but this young man excels them all in the variety and quan- 
tity of his apologues. They seem to come to him at his bidding, 
whenever needed. It is like a running stream, which is never 
exhausted. Let me give you some examples, to show how he sees 
what the wise men call the oppositions of truth, which are the 
source of the contradictions and disputes among men. As Plato 
teaches in " The Banquet " that love can reconcile all opposites, 
and make a harmony of all contraries, so this man, who is no 
philosopher, by a certain love of truth is able to reconcile these 
seeming contradictions. This love, of which his soul is full, 
makes his mind so large, that he is just to all reality. Truth is 
like a globe, my Sulpicius, of which most men see only one side; 
but the strange thing to me is that this young man is so wise that 
he can see both sides, and yet be full of ardor. 

If a ball, or globe, be supported on an axis running through the 
middle, the tv/o poles of this axis are opposite to each other ; but 
they are not hostile, but mutually necessary. Each pole helps 
the opposite pole to support the whole globe, and enable it to 
revolve. The philosopher sees that truths also are opposed, yet^ 
necessary to each other. And Plato teaches that each truth is 
generated by its opposite. AVhat astonishes me in this young 
man is, that he omits neither pole of these axes on which the 
divine globe of truth revolves. If sometimes he seems to carry 
one doctrine to an extreme, you will find, that before long, in 
some other story or proverb, he will state the truth which stands 
opposed to it. 

Thus in many of his sayings he speaks of the irreparable evil 
of sin ; and his warnings would cause sinners to despair, did he 
not join with these awful descriptions of a woe to come the prom- 
ise of help from that infinite Supremacy which he loves to call his 
Father. He once said in my hearing, that it were better to cut 
olf one's right hand, or to pluck out one's right eye, than to com- 



398 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

mit a sin which may plunge ns into that hell of misery ^Yhe^e fire 
forever burns within the soul, and a worm gnaws forever in the 
heart. Yet he encourages sinners to believe that they may taste, 
when they choose, the forgiveness of God. And he sa^'s some- 
times that we can make God and the angels happier, and the 
heavens more full of joy, by repenting of our sins. He does not 
attempt to reconcile such contradictions by metaphysics ; but while 
you listen you see that both are true. 

You know, perhaps, that, between the Society of Separatists 
and ourselves, there has long been a dispute as to how men shall 
be just before God. We who follow Zadok say, "By doing right 
actions, by obeying the law which declares that whoever doth 
these things shall live by them." One of our prophets says, 
"What doth Yahveh require of thee but to do justly, and love 
mercy, and walk humbly with thy God ? " Another declares that 
a great multitude of sacrifices is weariness to Yahveh, who only 
wishes men to " wash themselves from evil doings, ceasing to do 
evil, and learning to do well." Thus we have many strong scrip- 
tures for our support. But the Separatists say that " no one will 
do right till he first believes that he ought to do right, and has failJi 
that God will justify him when he tries to do right: therefore," 
say they, " we are not justified by works, but by the belief and the 
trust which alone M'ill make us work." I was desirous to know 
which side of this question our young prophet would take. And 
here, again, I discovered that he seemed to be on both sides. He 
has told stories about servants who were rewarded exactly in 
proportion to what they had done for their master, each having 
received the same number of mince at first, and those who made 
the most out of the sum intrusted to them being rewarded ac- 
cordingly. This was plainly justification by works. Yet he also 
declares, that, if one has only as much faith in God as a grain of 
the seed of the sinapi-tree, he can move a mountain, and make 
it stand in the midst of the Sea of Galilee. He declares that he 
cannot cure a man of his disease unless the man has faith. But 
the faith he demands is not the belief of any proposition ; but 
he seems to mean by it a sort of confident persuasion that God 
will help us. Here lies a great danger, my Sulpicius, — the dan- 
ger of that dreadful superstition which our master Epicurus 
opposed. It may easily lead men to think themselves favorites 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 399 

of God, and that others are his enemies. But I confess there 
is nothing of the kind in this young man, who always declares, 
that, if the Jewish nation is corrupt, God will choose, instead of 
our people, the Greeks' or the Romans, the people of Samaria or 
Persia, for his friends. 

Several of his stories have the same moral. Nothing displeases 
our Separatists so much as this. Once he described the coming 
kingdom as a feast given by the king, to which the invited guests 
refused to come, being occupied in business and pleasure. The 
king, being angry at this neglect, sent out and invited the beggars 
and the poor wretches out of the streets to come in to the supper. 
We all understood him to mean, that, if the Jewish nation refused 
to become his followers and disciples, he would seek his disci- 
ples among the heathen whom we despised, and make of them 
the new people of God. Also in another story of a youth who 
ran away into a far country, and was absent from his father a 
long time, and was kindly received on his return home, many 
thought that he meant not only sinners in general, but the Gen- 
tiles who had gone away from God, and lived in idolatry, feeding 
on the husks of religion, such as the worship of Baal and Astarte. 
When the heathen come back to the one living God, he will wel- 
come them with joy. The elder brother, in this story, evidently 
meant the Jews, who did not wish the heathen to be pardoned 
and saved. 

In another story he told about a man who hired laborers to 
work in his vineyard, and who, just before sundown, hired some 
other men, and put them in the vineyard to work, and paid them 
the same wages received by those who had been laboring all day, 
to the great discontent of those who had been in the vineyard 
since early morning. People said he meant that the Gentile 
proselytes would have as high a place in his community as the 
children of Abraham. He does not believe in any spiritual oli- 
garchy. All men to him are equal before God : sometimes, in- 
deed, the last become first, and the first become last. His sagacity 
is shown also in this ; for the fire of faith and genius often raises 
a man in a moment above those who have spent years in laborious 
discipline and patient culture. lie would therefore have all gifts 
find their natural level in his kingdom. He once declared that 
it was not for him to say who should have the highest offices in 



400 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

that realm ; for those places belonged by right to such as God 
had prepared by making them fit to do the work. The power 
would belong to him who knew how to use it. 

And again he told a story of a father who had two sons. One 
of these represented the Jews : the other, the Gentiles, the Publi- 
cans, Samaritans, and those whom the Jew most despises. The 
father tells both to work in his. vineyard. The one is full, of 
obedience, so far as words go,- but does not act accordingly. The 
other is disobedient in profession and language, but finally does 
as he is told to do. " Which is the obedient son ? " asked Jesus, 
— " the one who obeys in word, or the one who obeys in action ? " 
And they who heard him admitted that a Gentile whose religion 
was false, but his life good, was better than the Jew whose reli- 
gion was good, if his life were evil. 

I think, however, that the story which displeased them most 
was about a man who had a vineyard carefully arranged with a 
wall and tower containing the wine-press, who, having let it to 
husbandmen, w^ent away. This vineyard was the Jewish nation 
and religion ; the wall round it being the peculiar institutions 
which separate the Jews from other nations. He told how the 
'husbandmen beat and killed the servants sent to receive the fruit 
of the vineyard, and finally killed his son also. 

Then he asked, " What will the Lord of the vineyard do to 
those husbandmen ? " And some, who did not perceive the mean- 
ing of the story, said at once, " He will destroy them, and put 
others in their place." But the men of the Separate Society, who 
knew the meaning, cried out, " God forbid ! " for they saw that 
•he meant that the Jews who had received the law should cease to 
be God's people, and another nation w'ould be selected iu their 
place. 

This not only incensed the Pharisees, but also the chief priests. 
And here I must explain to you, my Sulpicius, that the Pharisees, 
or Separatists, are hostile to the priests, and seldom unite with 
them: in fact, their belief and methods are wholly different. All 
the interests of the priests consist in making the ritual of the 
utmost importance; salvation, to them, comes through faithful 
obedience to the ceremonial law : men are saved by sacrifices. If 
one will keep in this routine, he is safe. If he commits a trespass, 
he brings his sacrifice, and becomes pure before God. 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI, 401 

Now, the Pharisees dislike this system. With them prayer and 
instruction take the place of sacrifices. As the priests rule in the 
temple, which is for sacrifices, the Pharisees rule in the synagogue, 
which is for instruction. They oppose the authority of their tradi- 
tions to that of the Levitical law. They encourage study and 
inquiry, which the priesthood fears and condemns. The Phari- 
sees- say that the wise man is superior to the prophet : they call 
themselves Hassidim, or pious. 

The chief priest has been commonly appointed by the Persian, 
Greek, or Roman ruler ; and he has the chief political power. He 
and his friends are therefore under the influence of the Roman 
governor; but the Pharisees abhor the Romans, and secretly 
oppose them. 

As the language of our Sacred Scriptures is a dead language, 
we have another body of men, whose business it is to translate it 
into the vulgar tongue, and explain it to the people. Their trans- 
lations are called targums. The custom is for a translator and 
interpreter to stand side by side where the people are assembled. 
The translator recites the verse aloud in the Hebrew, and gives 
his targum, or translation, then the interpreter explains the mean- 
ing of the passage. These translators and interpreters we call 
" scribes," and they are naturally friends of the Separate Society. 
They carry on a violent opposition to the chief priests and rulers, 
with whom they have little in common. 

But it happens that this young man is feared and disliked by 
both parties, and this puts him in a very dangerous position. 
The priests dislike him because he openly asserts that true wor- 
ship does not consist of sacrifices in the temple, but must be in 
spirit and truth. He declares, that, if the temple be destroyed, 
he can in three days build a better temple to God. He will do 
this by uniting all honest hearts in a community where men will 
worship God by helping each other to gain good and to do good. 
He seems to believe that after death men revive in three days, 
and become spirits ; and I think he meant, that, if the Jews re- 
jected and killed him, the nation and temple would be destroyed, 
but that he, rising into some higher life, would create another wor- 
ship for mankind. But, while he opposes the priests and the rich 
rulers, he also gives fatal offence to the Separate Society. I do 
not see, therefore, how he can escape from their hands. 



402 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I said that he opposes the rich, and condemns those who lay up 
wealth. He once said that it was easier for a camel to go through 
a needle's eye than for a rich man to become a member of his 
society. And, indeed, it would be hard for those of us who have 
proi:)erty to join a body of wanderers who haTe neither home nor 
means of support. However, though Jesus points out, as all 
2")hilosophers have done, the danger to the character which comes 
from trust in riches, I must admit, that, when he treats of this 
question, he also shows a good deal of that balance of mind which 
arises from the power of seeing both sides of a question. 

He told a story the other day of a rich man and a beggar. He 
did not describe the rich man as a bad man, but as one who by 
habits of luxury had grown indifferent to the sufferings of others, 
and did not even notice the wretched mendicant by his gate. So, 
when they both die, and go into the world which the popular 
imagination believes to be a kind of universal receptacle of 
departed spirits, they find themselves in two different divisions, 
but near enough to see each other and speak to each other. The 
rich man is in a sort of purgatory, or fiery discipline, suffering 
much pain. The beggar is at a feast reposing in one of the high- 
est places, near to Abraham, with his head resting on Abraham's 
bosom. The rich man asks that the beggar may be sent to bring 
him a drop of water to cool his tongue. But father Abraham 
replies, kindly indeed, and calling the rich man his son, but ex- 
plaining that those who suffer on earth need the alternation of 
happiness beyond ; while those who have spent their time in mere 
enjoyment, need the discipline of pain, and that the great gulf of 
unalterable law prevents any modification of this method. But 
the young prophet added another touch which seemed to imply 
that the rich man was not hard-hearted, but thoughtless ; for he 
said the rich man asked, that, since he .himself could not be 
helped, his brothers on earth might be warned to avoid his fate. 
This trait, given to the character of the man of wealth, shows that 
our prophet has no hostility to rich men, though he thinks them 
exposed to peculiar temptations, as, indeed, they probably are. 
For example, there is our friend Seneca, the old tutor of Tiberius. 
How easily and beautifully he teaches self-denial! But, for all 
that, he lives in enormous luxury; and, if our young prophet is 
correct, I fear he will have to suffer somewhat in the under-world. 



LETTER OF JOSEPH BEN TABBAI. 403 

I was talking, the other day, with my friend Joseph Kaiaphas, 
who is at present the chief priest, having been appointed to that 
office, as you perhaps know, by the procurator Valerius Gratus. 
Kaiaphas is, however, hardly more than the nominal high priest, 
his father Annas having the real power, which by long usage has 
collected in his hands. I spoke to Kaiaphas about this young 
prophet, whom I really like, and said I hoped that they would not 
treat him badly. Kaiaphas answered, " I will say to you what I 
told the Sanhedrim the other day : ' Is it not better that one man 
should die than that the whole nation should perish ? ' If this 
thing goes on, we shall have men setting themselves up for kings 
and Messiahs, till the Romans are alarmed, and will make it a 
reason for taking away the little power they have left us. They 
only want an excuse now for putting an end to our nationality, 
and absorbing us into the Syrian province." — " Then you intend 
to put him to death, Kaiaphas? " I said. " That depends on him- 
self," answered he, "If he does not claim to be Messiah, I have 
no quarrel with him : if he does, his blood be on his own head." 
— "Well, Kaiaphas," I returned, "I can only say that this will be 
the noblest victim you have ever sacrificed in your capacity of 
high priest." — "It is well," Kaiaphas answered: "let this one 
man die for the nation, and save it by his death from destruc- 
tion." — "Perhaps," I answered, "there is more meaning than you 
know yourself in what you say. The martyrdom of such an inno- 
cent man, and of such a great soul, will probably produce a very 
wide impression. His death may be an influence for all man- 
kind." 

Written on the 
Nineteenth Day of the Month Abie. 

That which I feared, my Sulpicius, has come to pass. The 
enemies of our young prophet have proved too strong for him. 
He has been condemned and executed by order of our excellent 
procurator, Pontius Pilate, who, however, is in no respect respon- 
sible for his death. Pilate made extraordinary and almost in- 
credible efforts to prevent the execution ; but the plans of that 
narrow-minded bigot, Ben-Gamlah, were too well laid. He first 
procured a sentence of death from the Sanhedrim on a charge of 
blasphemy. The two parties in the Sanhedrim — that of the 



404 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Separate Society, and that of the high priest — joined in this. 
Then they brought Jesus to the procurator, and submitted to him 
a different charge, — that of Majestas, for setting himself up as 
a king, and thus exciting a rebellion against the Roman Kaisar. 
Our friend Pilate knew that this title of " Messiah " was merely 
a religious one as claimed by Jesus, and in no manner treason to 
the Kaisar. But the pressure on him was too great ; and, after 
repeated efforts to save the youth, he was obliged to yield, and 
order him for execution. The punishment, I believe, was cruci- 
fixion ; but I am not certain. 

But here we have another proof of the truth of our philosophy. 
"What horrible evils are inflicted on the world by religion ! How 
admirable are the expressions of your own great poet, Lucretius 
Caro, when describing how the priesthood led to death the inno- 
cent Iphigenia, compelling her own father to slay her at the very 
hour when she should have been given in marriage ! He cries 

out, — 

" Tantum Religio potuit suadere malorum." 

And now our own priesthood have dragged to death this youth, 
whose only fault was that he also believed in these fatal doctrines 
of the gods meddling in human affairs, and demanding our obedi- 
ence to their laws. He believed, too, in the immortality of the 
soul and in a future life. 

How much better it would have been, if, instead of his devot- 
ing himself to these empty subtleties of religion, he had applied 
his intellect to the study of natural laws ! If he could only have 
read Epicurus and Lucretius, it might have saved him. Now he 
has thrown away his life, and his great powers are lost forever to 
mankind. 

He has ceased to be. The atoms of which he was composed, 
which, by their fortunate combination, resulted in this fine organ- 
ism, are dissolved and gone. In a few years he will be entirely 
forgotten, and his influence cease forever. I suppose, that, in half 
a century from now, no one will remember his name. If he had 
devoted -himself to something positive, to some real knowledge, 
to something which would have helped his fellowmen, he might 
liave been remembered with the great men of old. His fame 
might have rivalled that — I will not say of Democritus or Epi- 
curus, for that would be extravagant — but of such men as 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 405 

Hemarchus, Polystratus, the profuse Apollodorus, Orion, Deme- 
trius the Laconian, and other great teachers of the school of 
Epicurus. I know you will consider me enthusiastic in saying 
this. It is true that this young man has left behind him no 
written books to justify the high opinion I have formed of him. 
But neither did Socrates. Nor has he founded a school with 
such disciples in it as Plato and Xenophon. His followers are 
ignorant men from Galilee, fishermen of the Galilean lake, quite 
unable even to report his teaching with any accuracy. I was 
speaking with one of them the other day, by name Simon; and 
it was painful to see in what a poor provincial dialect he spoke. 
Another was with him, whose name was, I think, Matthias, or 
Mattathias. Both related many incidents in their master's life 
which would have been interesting if told with literary skill. 
But such reports and records as they can make will attract no 
attention, nor be remembered long. 

If, my Sulpicius, I have taken your time with facts unworthy 
your attention, you must pardon me. Nothing which occurs in 
these provinces can equal the interest of what passes in Rome. 
Reward me, therefore, for my desire to entertain you, by telling 
me what is said and done in the Forum and in the Palace of the 
Kaisar. 



THE DREAM OF PILATE'S WIFE. 

(Letter from Pilate's loife, Claudia Procula, to Sabina 
PoppjiA, lier sister, in Rome.) 

I send to you, my dear sister, these tablets to inform you of 
late events in this city. The tabellarius has orders to put them 
into your own hands, and I shall seal them with my emerald ring 
with the doves. You will be careful not to speak to any one of 
what I say ; for the enemies of my husband might take occasion 
to injure him with the Imperator, because of what has happened 
here. 

Sister, you remember the first time we heard of the God of the 
Jews,' — how weary we were of Our lives ! how tired of every 



406 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDTMUS. 

thing ! "We had nothing to live for. Our home near the Capitol 
was full of comforts and luxuries. We were not confined to it, 
like the Greek women : we could go and come. But what for ? 
"What had we to do? AVe had no children to bring up: if we 
had, we might have been happy. 

Our religion gave us no comfort. It consisted of endless cere- 
monies; but there was no faith in it, and no love. The pontifex 
maximus himself believed neither in God nor the soul : so he 
openly said. I think, my dear sister, our woman's hearts were 
starving for something to love, and something to live for. 

Do you remember the day when the little Jewish peddler came 
to the house with his curious rings and amulets, his Egyptian 
charms and gold chains from Persia, and bronzes from Greece ? 
For amusement we called him in, and turned over his pack, 
spreading out every thing on the mosaic pavement. At last we 
found some little rolls of papyri, brought from Egypt, in bright 
red parchment wraj^pers, rolled on sticks with carved ivory heads. 
When we asked what they were, he at first hid them away in his 
bosom, and said, " They are nothing." But, when we insisted, he 
said, " Send away the slaves, and I will tell you." So, when the 
slaves were gone, he cautiously unrolled one of them, and said, 
" These are the verses of Sibylla from Erythrse, in which she 
foretells all that is to come, and prophesies the fate of Rome." 
And we begged to see them, and, having offered him a large sum, 
he sold the poem, having made us promise not to tell whence it 
came. 

AA^hen he was gone, we read the verses which promised bless- 
ings to those who should adore the One Invisible God, the author 
of dark night and sunny day, and to those who refuse to worship 
idols of wood and stone. The verses declared this God to be one, 
alone, immense, unborn, ruler of all things, living from eternity 
to eternity. They who worship Him who sees all hearts shall rise 
into greater life in the heavens ; but they who refuse shall descend 
into fires burning below, and into dreadful gloom and horror. 

This was what the sibyl said ; but she did not tell us how to 
find and to know this God. Then we sent the slaves out to seek 
diligently for the Jew, and bring him again. AVhen he was found, 
we asked him concerning this invisible God, the Only One, above 
all things. And he produced another roll, written by a Jewish 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 407 

prophet, full of hymns to the Jewish God, of whom, he said the 
sibyl spake. Oh, how lovely were those strains which told of 
this awful Power, whose word would cause the heavens to roll 
together, and the earth to wither, but who would tenderly guard 
all who trusted in him, and be to them a Friend and Helper ! 
And thus we became worshippers of the Jewish God, whom we 
could adore and love, and in whom we could believe. 

Therefore, when my husband was made Procurator of Judaea, 
I was glad to go with him there ; and, having besought him much, 
he consented to take me ; for, though the law forbade it, this law 
has of late fallen into disuse. 

And T, who know Rome so well, with its marble palaces, sitting 
as a queen upon its seven hills, am yet amazed at the majesty of 
Jerusalem. Compared with its vast temple, all of ours are poor 
and mean. I have gone there, being admitted to the Court of the 
Women, by the favor of a wise rabbi, who said, "When a heathen 
desires to enter into the covenant, our part is to stretch out our 
hand to him, and bring him under the wings of God." 

Being in this court, I one day saw a teacher speaking to the 
people, and asked who he was. They told me that he was a 
prophet from Galilee, by name Jesus. I stood near, and listened 
to his words, which fell soft as dew, and were full of charm, bring- 
ing peace to my soul. He seemed to enter into the secret cham- 
bers of my heart, and lifted me up, till I stood near to the majesty 
of God, and could call him my Father, and not fear. 

I often went with my husband from our home in Csesarsea, to 
the feasts in Jerusalem, hoping to see the prophet again. When- 
ever he came, I gladly listened to him, and grew happy as I heard 
his words, which filled my soul with consolation and hope. And 
when the great Jewish Feast of the Passover lately came, I went 
to Jerusalem once more. 

Every day, when Pilate returned from holding his court on the 
Platform of Justice, I asked him if the prophet of Galilee had 
yet arrived. At last he told me, " He has arrived, but not as he 
came before. He has come attended by many friends, and I think 
they will not permit the rulers to do him harm ; for the Court of 
the Seventy have decided to kill him." — "But wdiy ? " I asked. 
" Ts he not one of their own prophets ? " — "I know not why," 
returned my husband. " They seem to hate him. But fear noth- 



408 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

ing for your prophet, my Claudia," he added ^vith a smile ; " for I 
have a cohort of soldiers at hand, and there shall be no disturb- 
ance at the feast. Besides, they know me too well to venture to 
make any riot." 

When I went to Judaea, I was not altogether a believer in the 
Jewish religion, nor am I even now. There are many things in 
it which seem without reason, and many others which are said of 
their God, which do not agree together. Sometimes he is spoken 
of as cruel and jealous, as the gods of our Pantheon. But what 
chiefly interested me is the tone of confident belief in which these 
Scriptures speak of God, truth, and right. AVhat these Jews be- 
lieve, they believe ; while we are only thinkers, seekers, doubters. 
Our philosophers are not only ignorant whether there is any God, 
or any future life, but they are proud of their ignorance. What 
kind of religion is our Roman religion, in which our pontifex max- 
imus, the chief high priest, denies in private what he teaches in 
public? I took up in my husband's library the other day a trea- 
tise of our Cicero on " The Xature of the Gods." In the third 
book I read that Kotta, the chief pontiff, declares, that, as pontiff, 
he believes in the gods ; but on grounds of reason he denies their 
existence. He says that there is no proof of God, nor of provi- 
dence. All is doubt. Xo one knows any thing about it. This is 
the result to which our great scholar Cicero arrives, at the close of 
his book. 

More than this, our educated men and most forward thinkers, 
the greatest minds we have, seem proud of their doubts, their 
ignorance, their uncertainty. They think it courageous to deny 
the beliefs of their ancestors : they say their doubts come from 
their love of truth. But I think that he who loves truth loves to 
believe and to know ; for truth is not ignorance, but knowledge. 

I often talk with my husband on these things : he belongs to 
his time, and thinks, like the others, that nothing can be certainly 
known. I told him I liked the Jewish writings, because they 
spoke of truth as something certain, not as doubtful. " Yes," said 
he, "but what is truth? Who knows?" This makes me sad. He 
told me, that, in the debate in the Senate on the punishment to be 
inflicted on Katalina and the other conspirators, Kaisar, who was 
chief pontilf, opposed putting them to death, because that would 
be an end to all their suffering ; " for after death," said he, " there 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 409 

is neither care nor joy." Nor did the rest of the Senate contradict 
him, nor think it of any consequence whether we live again or not. 

But how different are these Jews ! They not only believe, but 
they seem to know, that God is their friend. They compare his 
tenderness with that of the mother-bird, who broods over her 
young, and covers them with her feathers. They believe certainly 
that the Lord is on their side, and they cannot fear any thing that 
man may do to them. But this prophet whom they call Jesus 
goes much deeper down and higher up. He speaks as if God were 
certainly with him at all times, giving him all power. God is in 
his mind and heart, a perpetual peaoe and joy. He speaks so 
calmly and so surely of the rest of the soul which he can give us, 
that I long to be with him and to hear him speak again. I hope 
that at this Feast of the Passover I shall do so. 

My dear sister, I have caused one of the followers of the proph- 
et to write down for me the prayer he gave them. It is very short, 
and I repeat it every day. It seems to contain in itself every thing 
I wish to say. It begins, " Our Father." I scarcely dare to say 
this — la Koman woman to call the God of the Jews my Father ! 
But it gives me peace and comfort to say these words. Next it 
says that this Father is "in heaven," and that his name must be 
made and kept "holy" by us. But where is heaven? I do not 
know; but I think "heaven" cannot be far off, since God, who is in 
heaven, is so near that we can talk with him thus easily. Heaven 
is also, they say, full of angels, and holy spirits, and pure little 
children. And the prophet tells us that when we love God, and 
love each other, we already are not far from heaven ; so that, when 
we die, we shall not go down, but up, — not down into the dark- 
ness of the under-world, among shades of men, but into an uj^per- 
world of sunshine and joy. 

Is not this, dear sister, better than our own sad disbelief ? As 
I once walked on the Appian Way, I looked at the tombs, and saw 
on one this inscription, " Reader, enjoy thy life ; for after death 
there is no joy nor any more pleasure." And, on another, "Pil- 
grim, stop and listen. There is nothing beyond the grave : once 
dead, all is over." And, on another, " Hold all as mockery, read- 
er : nothing is our own." 

Another line of my prayer asks that the gods may rule here 
below, and reign on the earth, and their will be done by men here, 



410 THE LEGEXD OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

as the angels do it above. I say "^o(7s"from custom; but tins 
prayer is to the one only God. And then, continuing in my 
l^rayer, I ask for my bread for the day, and all necessary food : 
thus I feel as if it were given to me always by God himself. 

And the next request in m}^ prayer is, '-'that I may be forgiven 
my sins, as I also forgive others." In this religion, it seems it is a 
duty to forgive our enemies : with us, it is rather a duty to take 
vengeance on our enemies. Also in tliis the prophet differs from 
his own people, as well as from all mankind; for the Jews are 
relentless in their hatred to their enemies. If the prophet can 
convert them to this forgiving rule, he will perform a more won- 
derful miracle than when (as it is reported) he raised a dead man 
to life. I once heard him tell the people that to forgive their ene- 
mies was to be like God, who sends his sun and rain on good men 
and bad men, making no difference between them. He also said 
that no man could ever believe it was right for God to forgive 
him, while he thought he ought not to forgive another. " If you 
believe it right," said he, "that you should forgive others, then 
you will see that it is right for God to forgive you. If you think 
it wrong for you to forgive your enemies, you will think it wrong 
for God to forgive you. Then you cannot pray, in faith, to be 
forgiven." But this doctrine seems almost above the power of 
man to believe and practise. 

Then, in my prayer, I ask this Father "not to lead me into 
temptation, but to deliver me from the Evil One." I asked the 
daughter of Israel who taught me this " Bread-prayer," as I call it, 
to explain its meaning. This young woman, who is named Miriam, 
and is a native of Galilee, came to see me in the procurator's 
palace at Caesarsea. She had heard that Ilerod meant to kill the 
prophet, and wished me to ask my husband to protect him. But 
Pilate said that Ilerod would not venture to seize any one in that 
country^ for he knew that Pilate would not allow it. My husband 
dislikes Herod, and thinks him no real friend to Rome. Thus I 
came to know the damsel Miriam. She has the strange beauty 
of the Jewish women, which has drawn aside so many of our 
young Roman noblemen. But this girl has seen many sorrows, 
and I feel great pity for her. 

AYhen, therefore, I asked Miriam the meaning of this prayer, 
and how- it was that the great God of the world, who hangs the 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 411 

stars in the skies, could lead us into temptation, and why, if he 
is so good, he can wish to do so, she answered that the prophet 
taught, that all earthly events come to us by God's will; that 
there are no such goddesses as fortune, or accident, or fate, or 
necessity. All things which befall us come by an infinite decree. 
Thus not even a little bird falls dead in the air, but drops into the 
hand of an infinite Friend. All things have a meaning and pur- 
pose : the dark events of our life also have an object, and are in- 
tended for some good. Known to God are all things which take 
place from the beginning of the world. He knows us better than 
we know ourselves, and has made each of us for some good end. 
Thus Miriam taught me ; and, as she spoke, her arms lifted, and, 
her hair floating backward, she appeared like a sibyl. "■ God leads 
us," said she, " wherever we go. He leads us into evil and good ; 
he leads us into temptation when we are proud, that we may be' 
tested by it, and know our own weakness. Thus he makes us 
humble, and conscious of our sin. But when we feel our weakness, 
and are already humble, we may not need this test, and may pray 
not to be led into temptation, but to be delivered from the evil 
ones, the dark spirits who go about in our midst, invisible, seek- 
ing to destroy our souls." So she explained my " Bread-prayer" 
to me, and now I say it every day. 

Since I wrote the former words of this epistle, my Sabina, 
many things have occurred strange and dreadful. 

I have told you before of the great feasts, to which all these 
people come in vast multitudes. They are so many, that the city 
will not hold them ; and great numbers dwell in camps on the 
neighboring hills, and come every day to the city and the temple. 

My prophet (for I hold him my best teacher) came to the city 
on the sabbath, five days before the evening on which they eat 
the lambs, standing girt as for a journey. But he entered the 
city surrounded and guarded by great numbers of his friends, who 
sang hymns, and chanted, and cried aloud that he came in the 
name of the great Yahveh (for so they call their God), to bring 
peace to all the world. And, to show this, he rode on an ass, and 
not on a horse ; since all men of peace — merchants and the like — 
ride on the ass, and soldiers on horses. Also many little children 
ran before, and cried in their tender, shrill voices, " This is the 



412 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

King of Peace." But such crowds surrounded him every day in 
the temple, that I did not like to go there ; nor did my husband 
wish me to go. I waited, then, for a more convenient season ; but 
alas I it never came. 

On the night before the feast, when I was asleep in our palace, 
I had a dream so strange, wild, and terrible, that I will repeat it 
to you. 

I thought I was in the Roman Forum, seated near the rostra, 
watching a triumphal procession. Some senators near me said, 
" This is the three hundred and twentieth. So many victories 
since Rome began her grand career ! but this is almost the last." 

While I wondered at their words, tfie procession moved on. 
I saw the senators and magistrates walking solemnly forward, 
heard the wild strains of the trumpets, and saw the wagons piled 
high with spoils, the elephants marching two and two, covered 
■with scarlet trappings, the models of the captured cities carried 
on high, and the pictures of the mountains and lakes and rivers 
which had been passed over by the troops. Statues and vases, 
costly paintings, and rich robes, were borne aloft. Then came 
the white bulls and oxen for sacrifice, with gilded horns, followed 
by the priests. Then followed the prisoners, in chains, clanking 
as they walked, with gloom and hatred in their faces. 

Kext in ]ny dream I saw the chariot, drawn by four white 
horses, in which rode the imperator. As he appeared, his army 
marching behind him, one wild shout of triumph rose from the 
vast multitude. I tried to see his face, but a white veil hung 
before it. In a moment all seemed to change. A fearful flash 
of lightning fell from the sky, attended by a terrific burst of 
thunder. Suddenly black darkness fell on every thing. Another 
flash of lightning illuminated for a moment the scene. Then I 
saw the temples and palaces around me falling in ruins ; flames 
bursting from the Capitol and the Palace .of the Csesars ; and 
standing in the chariot, his arm stretched out, was the prophet of 
Galilee. Another flash ; and in place of the Roman Forum and 
buildings I saw the Jewish Temple, and I was in the midst of 
Jerusalem. The thunder rolled, the earth shook ; and a loud 
voice from the heavens cried, " Come and see ! " And by the red 
fierce light I saw a pale horse, and a figure of horror seated on 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 413 

him, M'ith the word Death over his head, and an army of dead 
men followed him. Their bones rattled in their armor, and their 
skulls were seen under the helmets ; and they moved on by thou- 
sands, until I thought the ghastly procession would never end. 

Then I seemed to be outside of Rome, on the plains which 
stretch toward the Sabine hills ; and I was walking toward the 
city with a multitude. From the city we heard a mournful trum- 
pet sounding slowly, with short intervals of silence between each 
wailing cry. And I asked my neighbors what it meant. They 
answered, "Know you not that this is the day of judgment for all 
mankind, when the Jewish Christ is to judge the world ? Those 
who reach the city before the trumpet ceases to sound may be 
saved; but those who do not arrive in season are forever lost." 
Thus we hastened on, while the intervals between the trumpet- 
sounds appeared to become longer. And as we passed on I saw 
the dead coming from their graves under the sod. They pushed 
the earth away from above them, climbed out of the ground, and 
came on by our sides. Still the trumpet sounded fitfully, and at 
last we reached the gate of the city. Once more I stood in the 
Forum. But now, in the midst, there rose a gigantic cross, and 
on it hung a figure which I knew to be the prophet. Around me 
stood the buildings of Rome and Jerusalem mingled together. 
And a mighty angel on wings came flying to the cross, and cried, 
*' Woe to the world which has crucified its King ! for the judgment 
of God has come upon Jerusalem and upon Rome, and they shall 
fall like Babylon, to perish forever." Then the prophet rose also 
into the air ; and the cross fell on the ground, and all again was 
darkness. 

At this moment I awoke, and was aware of one of my hand- 
maidens, who said that a Jewish woman waited to see me, saying 
that her business was urgent : so I had her called into my cham- 
ber. When she entered, I saw it was Miriam. She was pale, 
and her eyes swollen with tears. She said, " O Lady Claudia ! 
the prophet has been taken prisoner, and now stands before thine 
husband's tribunal to be judged; and the Jews clamor for his 
death. Give me a message to the Ruler to warn him not to let 
those cruel men have their way. O lady ! his life is in thine 
hands. He is innocent of all crime. Save him, I beseech thee ! " 
Thus speaking, she threw herself on her knees by my couch, and 



414: THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

embraced my feet, and looked up ^vith such imploring eyes, that my 
heart melted within me. Then I called for my tablets and stylus, 
and wrote some hasty words to my husband Pontius, and warned 
him to have nothing to do with that innocent and just man, say- 
ing what I had suffered in my dream because of him. These 
tablets Miriam took, and departed hastily. 

Hours passed ; and I sent out servants to learn how the matter 
stood, but none returned. At last my husband arrived, looking 
very sad ; and I knew a misfortune had happened. " "What is 
it, O Pontius? " said I. " Tell me all." 

And Pontius went with me into the interior of the house, and, 
dismissing the servants, said, " I received thy message, my wife ; 
but I could do nothing. 1 could not resist the rage of these mad- 
men. I did all I could, for I knew that Jesus was a just and 
innocent man. Hearing that he was of Galilee, I sent him to 
Herod to let him decide the question. But Herod is too cun- 
ning to run any risk, and sent him back again to me. I went out, 
and declared to the people that I found no fault in the prophet. 
But they yelled aloud that he was a rebel against Kaisar, and that 
he made himself a king in the place of the Emperor Tiberius ; 
and that, if I let him go, I was no friend to Kaisar. I knew well 
what this meant, — that I was to be ruined unless I consented to 
his death." 

" And then you gave him up to them! " I answered bitterly. 

"No, Claudia, be not unjust. Hear the whole transaction as it 
occurred. I will narrate it in order. 

" Yery early, at break of day, I was summoned to the Praeto- 
rium because an important case was waiting for judgment. Won- 
dering what this could be, that made so early a trial necessary, I 
went to the seat of judgment, and found waiting before it a body 
of the temple guard, who were guarding a prisoner bound. 1 saw 
at once that he was a Jew, and demanded what it meant. Then 
stepped forward two members of the Council of Seventy, who said, 
' This is a criminal, named Jesus Ben Joseph, whom we have 
found guilty of high crimes, and brought here to be sentenced.' 
But while saying this they did not enter the Hall of Judgment, 
but stood just outside the door. And I said, ' Come in, and give 
your testimony.' They answered, 'Permit us, O Procurator! to 



THE DREAItl OF PILATE's WIFE. 415 

remain in the doorway ; for this is the Feast of the Passover, and, 
while it continues, we are forbidden to enter the house of any 
stranger.' Then I said, 'I will come out to you.' Leaving the 
judgment-seat, I went out, and asked them the crime of which he 
was accused. They answered insolently, ' We have tried him, 
and found him guilty, else we should not have brought him to 
thee.' — 'Then sentence him,' said I, and turned away. But they 
called out, 'We are forbidden to put any man to death while a 
Roman governor is in the city.' And this was true ; for, in case of 
an insurrection, the power of life and death could not be trusted 
to them. Every friend of the Romans, taken prisoner by them, 
might have been put to death. 

" Therefore I once more took my seat on the throne of judg- 
ment, and called on them to declare the crime, saying, ' If I am to 
pronounce the sentence, I must also hear and examine the case.' 

"For I knew their bitter prejudices; and I determined in my 
own mind not to allow them to kill this man, unless they could 
prove that he deserved it. For I remembered what thou hast told 
me concerning this prophet, that he. was innocent, and that his 
doctrine was like that of our best philosophers." 

And Pilate continued, " Then the committee of the Sanhedrim 
arrived, with Kaiaphas ab its head (he is their j^ondfex maxlinus), 
and charged the prisoner with taking the title of King in Judsea, 
and thus being guilty of the offence of 'Majesty' against 
Tiberius. They were very violent and bitter in their charges. 
I listened until they had finished. Among other things, they 
accused him of forbidding to pay tribute to Kaisar. This I knew 
was false ; for it is only two days since the centurion Publius told 
me of the question having been put directly to the prophet in the 
temple. They asked him whether it were right to pay tribute to 
Kaisar ; and he told them that if they used Kaisar's coin, which 
Kaisar had had stamped, they might pay it to Kaisar. I knew, 
therefore, that this charge was a libel. 

" But the chief accusation, and one which they repeated loudly, 
was that he set himself up as a king, and therefore was the enemy 
of Kaisar; and that he wished to make an insurrection against 
Kaisar. And, in proof of this, Kaiaphas took an oath by his own 
God. Putting his hand on the prophet's head, he said, ' As the 
Lord liveth, I declare, that, before the Council of Seventy, this 



416 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

Jesus said he was the King whom we call the Kristos. And 
immediately we condemned him to die for this crime against the 
emperor, and brought him to thee to be put to death.' Then I 
turned to the prisoner, and said, ' According to Roman law, every 
man charged with crime hath a right to hear and to answer every 
accusation. Thou mayst therefore reply, and defend thyself.' 

" Btit the prisoner was silent, and said nothing. 

"Then I rose, and said, 'Prisoner, hast thou heard the accusa- 
tion? They charge thee with a conspiracy against the Imperator. 
The j)unishment is death ; nor will it be death by stoning, if thou 
art sentenced by my court. It will be crucifixion, — the torturing 
death of a slave. Therefore take thought, and defend thyself, if 
thou hast any thing to say.' 

"But he stood before me silent, not seeming to hear my words. 
Indeed, Claudia, there was a wonderful look in his face, as of one 
communing with an unseen presence. His mind was not with 
■us, in the court, but far off, in some ecstatic state. I determined 
then to examine him privately, and ordered the others to leave 
the hall. When all had gone out, and we were alone, I spoke to 
him again, and said, — 

" ' Tell me the truth. Art thou, or art thou not, the King for 
whom the Jews are looking, and whom all the East is expecting ? ' 

"Immediately he looked at me with a calmness at which I 
wondered ; and in a tranquil tone he asked, ' In what sense dost 
thou use the word 'king'? — in thine own sense, as a Roman, or 
with the Jewish meaning ? ' 

"I answered, 'I know very little about the Jewish ways of 
thinking. This is an accusation brought by thine own nation. I 
bring no charge against thee. Tell me thyself what thou art, 
and what thou hast done.' 

"Then he said, 'My kingdom is not an earthly one. It is not 
a kingdom like that of Kaisar, over the outward acts of men : I 
seek to rule over their souls. Thou canst see thyself that I am 
not seeking any earthly empire. A vast multitude of my fol- 
lowers would have fought to the death to prevent my being taken 
prisoner; but now is my kingdom not of this kind.' 

" ' What sort of a kingdom is it ? ' I asked. 

" ' Yes, I am a King, and I have a kingdom. For this end I 
was born, and for this cause I came into the world, —to bear wit- 



THE DREAM OF PILATE's WIFE. 417 

ness to the truth. All who love the truth will sooner or later 
come to me and obey this truth; and I shall be their King, by- 
being to them the truth they love, believe, and obey,' 

"This, or something like it, he said; but I have long since 
despaired of finding any solid truth. All is changing opinion in 
this world, and who is sure of any thing ? It seemed strange and 
a delusion that any one could think himself so sure of having the 
truth as to anticipate the day when all men should take him for 
teacher and master. At all events, however, this was an innocent 
delusion. Even the jealous Tiberius could hardly be offended 
with one who made himself a king in this way. So I left him 
standing in the hall, and went out to where the crowd of Jews 
were still before the judgment-seat, fiercely discussing the matter. 
As I went out, I heard one saying, ' If he doth not condemn him, 
we will complain at once to the proconsul, and, if he doth not hear 
us, to Kaisar at Rome.' I paid no attention to this, but at once 
took my place on the seat of judgment, and said, 'The case is 
decided: I find no fault in the man, and shall acquit him.' 

" A great yell arose, and they shook their fists at me ; and the 
deputies of the Sanhedrim, coming forward, said, ' Be very care- 
ful, O procurator! how thou dost this. He is an open rebel. 
During this last month he hath called on the people to rise in in- 
surrection, stirring them up all the way from his home in Galilee 
to this city.' 

" 'Is, then, Galilee his home ? ' asked I. 

" They answered yes ; and I saw a way to escape the difficulty 
of my situation. Therefore I gravely answered, — 

"'In that case I have no jurisdiction. The case belongs to 
Herod, not to myself, since he is the ruler of Galilee. I shall 
seiid him to Herod.' And I immediately sent him to Herod, in 
charge of a file of soldiers. 

" Herod was pleased, it seems, that I recognized his jurisdiction. 
But he is very cunning, and did not mean to take the responsibili- 
ty which I had thrown off. However, one good result followed ; 
for he was so pleased with my civility, that he came himself to 
the palace to thank me, and the coolness between us has come 
to an end. But he brought back Jesus with him, and said, ' I 
really have no authority in the matter. He is accused of attack- 
ing the majesty of Kaisar, of whom thou art the representative 



418 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

here, not I. This is a charge for thee to try. It is an offence, 
besides, committed, not in Galilee, -uhere he always refused to be 
called the Kristos, but only since leaving Galilee. How, then, can 
I take cognizance of the offence ? ' So spoke Herod, and I saw 
that on me it rested to decide the question. 

" Therefore T sent a centurion to the gate of the temple to de- 
mand the presence of the accusers ; and, when they had come, I 
took my place again on the judgment-seat, and all the fierce mob 
was once more assembled. They looked like starved wolves, 
longing to tear in pieces their victim. But I was still determined 
to save him : therefore I pronounced my sentence in these words: — 

*' 'Men of the Jewish council, you have brought here this man, 
Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee. You have accused him of per- 
verting the people, and teaching them to refuse to pay tribute to 
Kaisar. Behold, I have examined him in your presence, and it 
hath been proved that he taught that all things due to Kaisar 
must be paid to him, and that the tribute-money belongs to 
Kaisar because stamped with his image. As to the charge of 
making himself a king, I find that he calls himself king, as being 
a king of truth, or what we Romans call a philosopher. He hath 
refused to allow his servants to fight, or draw" the sword. "Whether 
he is a king in this sense, or not, is a question of words with which 
I have nothing to do. I have also sent him to Herod; and Herod 
finds nothing against him, and hath sent him back, saying that in 
Galilee, under his jurisdiction, he did not even claim to be a king, 
but refused to be called so. I cannot, therefore, execute your sen- 
tence of death upon him. As the cause of this disturbance, I will 
order him to be beaten with rods, and will then release him. This 
is my sentence. Let it be recorded.' 

" When the crowd which had collected around the judgment- 
seat heard this, they gave a wdld roar, and began to use threats. 
It was plain to me that they were under the control of some secret 
leaders. Those in front crowded up close to where my few sol- 
diers stood : those behind waved swords in the air. It was plain 
that in another minute this furious multitude might rush on their 
victim and on me. My troops, even if all in Jerusalem were 
around me, were too few to resist them. Something must be 
instantly done, or all Jerusalem would be in an uproar. 

" So I rose, and waved my hand for silence. • Hear the rest of 



THE DREAM OF PILATE 's WIFE. 419 

the decree,' I said. ' This man hath not broken any Roman law, 
and he is acquitted of all crime against Rome; but your court 
hath sentenced him for a crime against your law. He is therefore 
put into my hands as a criminal to be punished. I will keep him 
therefore in prison until it is decided what punishment to inflict. 
Soldiers, take him into the court.' Thus I thought to escape any 
immediate decision until their rage had passed by. 

" But now, before I left the judgment-seat, the people cried out 
that they wished for the release of some Jew under condemnation, 
as has been the custom of Roman governors at the Passover. 

* Give us our prisoner, our Passover prisoner ! ' they cried, — ' our 
prisoner, our Paschal prisoner ! ' 

" ' Very well,' I said, ' I will do so. I will pardon the offence 
of Jesus, whatever it be, and release him. He shall be the pris- 
oner pardoned and released at this Passover.' 

" When I said this, I thought the matter settled. But I per- 
ceived men in the crowds, no doubt agents of the council, who 
diligently moved to and fro, exhorting the people. Directly they 
began to call out, ' No, no ! Give us Bar-abbas. Pardon Bar- 
abbas ! We choose Bar-abbas for our Passover prisoner ! Set 
Bar-abbas free ! ' 

" This put me again in great perplexity. At that moment thy 
message was brought jne, and I ordered the proceedings stayed 
until I could read it. What a strangely beautiful girl was the 
Jewish damsel who brought the message ! Her eyes were like' 
lamps of light, and her whole soul was in her face. Who is this 
wonderful creature, my Procula ? " 

" Her name is Miriam," I answered. "But tell me all." 

" When I went out again, the crowd was still there, and grow- 
ing larger and more determined than before. Then I said, — 

"'I will pardon the Paschal prisoner. I will pardon either 
the Jewish king, or Bar-abbas. Decide for yourselves which it 
shall be.' 

" If there were any in the crowd who wished Jesus to be 
pardoned, they were afraid to speak; for all shouted, as before, 

* Bar-abbas ! Give us Bar-abbas ! Pardon Bar-abbas ! ' 

"'What then,' said I, ' shall I do with Jesus, the Jewish 
king ? ' 

" ' Crucify him ! crucify him ! ' they cried aloud. 



420 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

" ' Why, ^'hat evil hath he done ? ' I asked. ' I find no cause of 
death in him.' And some of them said, 'We have a law, and 
by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of 
God.' 

' " This,' said I, ' is a new charge. I will take him in again, 
and examine him on this question.' 

" A strange agitation came over my mind. I understand how 
this man's face should have haunted thee in thy dreams. He 
appears indeed like a half-god, the son of Jupiter or of Phoebus- 
Apollo. A subtle force goes from him ; and when I hear him 
speak, and look in his face, I feel a certain wonder and reverence. 

" Therefore, when I was once more alone Muth the prophet, I 
said to him, ' Tell me truly whence thou comest V ' And I almost 
expected to hear him say, ' From the abode of the gods.' Yet 
thou knowest, my Claudia, that I am not credulous. 

" He stood before me, his hands bound behind his back, a solemn 
strength in his eyes. But he remained silent. He hardly seemed 
to hear me. He was like a man of whom one asks a trifling ques- 
tion when his thoughts are on some difficult problem. Thus he 
had looked while the debate was going on of which his life was 
the stake. Something else than any thing which concerned his 
own life or death was occupying his thoughts. He hardl}^ seemed 
to hear me ; so that I said impatiently, — 

" ' Answer my question. Dost thou not know that it depends 
on me to have thee set free, or to have thee crucified ? ' 

" And then, strangely enough, our positions were reversed. He 
looked at me with pity, as though I were the prisoner, and he the 
judge. At last his lips opened, and he said, — 

" ' Thou art not so much to be blamed. Thou hast not the 
power of settling this question. If thou truly hadst it, thou 
wouldest be very sinful to send to death one whom thou knowest 
to be innocent. But they who brought me to thee have arranged 
their plans too well. Thou hast no escape. The sin is theirs, 
not thine.' 

" How strange that this man should have looked into my heart, 
and seen how I was struggling to escape doing what I knew to be 
wrong — and struggling in vain. I felt myself dragged down by 
these crafty and determined Jews, who had resolved to make 7ne 
their tool in putting to death this man who was better than all of 



THE DREAM OF 1»ILATE's WIFE. 421 

them. And, Claudia, it gave me comfort that he pardoned me 
beforehand, for the act he foresaw that I should do. Yet I was 
determined to make one more effort for this noble soul. He is a 
noble soul, my Claudia. Thou art right in thy judgment of him. 

" What I thought to do was this. I would turn the whole thing 
into a jest. I would make it so ridiculous, that only laughter and 
mirth should seem suitable ; and no one would think the slightest 
danger to the emperor or empire would come from such a foolish 
joke. When we laugh at a man, we no longer fear him. There- 
fore I gave suitable directions to the centurion, who understood 
me, and acted accordingly. They stripped the prophet of his toga, 
and put on him an old scarlet cloak to represent the imperial pur- 
ple. They wove a coronet out of a wild, climbing prickly vine 
which grew near by. They took a rush, and put it into his hand 
for a sceptre, and pretended to do obeisance to him as a king. 
Then I brought him out to the crowd, and said to them, ' Behold 
the man ! Here is the king who is to dethrone the Kaisar ! ought 
not the Kaisar to be afraid of him ? ' Then the soldiers shouted, 
laughed, hooted, and danced around him in mockery. And the 
people, too, began to laugh, and I thought that I could let him go 
in peace. 

"But I little knew the depth of their bitterness and hatred. 
Some of the deputies of the Jewish Council of Sevent}^ came to me 
and said, ' We see thy plan, procurator; but it cannot be allowed. 
This man must die. Choose between his death and thine own. 
We are prepared, if thou dost let him go, instantly to send to 
the Kaisar a charge against thee of abetting treason against his 
throne. Thou knowest that we have powerful friends at Rome. 
Thou dost remember the shields ? — ■ how we obtained orders from 
the Kaisar, compelling thee to remove them. Our minds are 
made up, — thy life, or his.' So saying, they turned away; and 
the multitude, with a roar like that of the sea, shouted, ' Crucify 
him ! Crucify him ! ' 

"What could I do, Claudia? Had not the prophet himself 
said to me that I was powerless to resist them, and that the fault 
was not mine ? Did not he really give himself to death when he 
forbade his friends to fight for him ? For there were enough men 
of Galilee near by to have rescued him, had he only permitted it. 

" I turned and looked at him. He was unconscious of the hor- 



422 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. 

rible tumult, the insults, the deadly cries. He did not seem to 
feel the pain from the stripes, though the blood was yet trickling 
from his back down his naked limbs. He stood calm, serene, a 
heavenly light in his eyes. He was a king : we were the help- 
less and feeble slaves. 

" I turned away in despair. I could do no more. I should sac- 
rifice myself, but I could not rescue him. I ordered a vase of 
water to be brought up to me on the beina, and washed my hands 
before them, saying, ' I am innocent : I wash my hands of it. 
His blood be on you. ' And they cried, ' His blood be on us and 
on our children I ' 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 423 



CHAPTER XX. 

MIRIAM OF MIGDOL RELATES TO THOMAS THE WONDERFUL EVENTS 
WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. WHAT THOMAS ALSO 

SAW. 

The next day was the sabbath. I spent it alone among 
the hills, seeming to myself to be surrounded by the ruins of 
all my hopes. I had lost my faith in mj^ master, and with 
it my faith in all I had learned of him. I did not know, 
until it was gone, -how much I had begun to believe. While 
with Jesus, I had felt overshadowed by a divine love, up- 
held by some blessed, divine arms. I had been filled with 
hopes for my nation, for the world, and for myself. I 
almost believed that Jesus was the Christ who was to come ; 
and, if so, then love and truth were to come with him to 
reign ; wickedness and war and misery would cease ; and 
the whole world would be full of the knowledge of God, as 
the waters cover the sea. But he had been fatally deceived. 
He was not the Christ, the King, but a victim of the wicked- 
ness he had expected to conquer. The sweetest, purest, 
noblest life had gone down in agony to the death of a slave. 
Then God was not his Father. Then evil could not be 
overcome by good. Then the kingdom of heaven did not 
belong to the poor in spirit. Then the meek did not inherit 
the earth. No, there is no God who cares for man ; and 
there is nothing better for a man to do than to eat and drink 
and die. 

Why, in this condition of mind, I did not destroy myself 
from despair, as Judas did from remorse, 1 do not know. 



424 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

I sometimes think that there was more faith still left in my 
soul than I knew myself. I had lived too long in con- 
tact with the master's divine trust, not to have it become 
a part of the texture of my mind. It is possible that not 
even this awful disappointment quite destroyed my faith. 
There may have yet been still in my soul a vague, deeply- 
hidden hope that somehow all might still be well. But all I 
then felt or knew was gloom and despair. 

So passed the sabbath. It was no day of rest to me. So 
passed the next day also, the first day of the week. I can 
scarcely remember where I went, or what I did. I spent 
each night in the same place, — in an empty hut on the side 
of the mountain. I bought bread in the houses of those 
who raised olives and figs. I spoke to no one, and had no 
wish to meet any human bei"ng. 

But on the third day a change came over me. I was 
weary of being alone. I was seized with a wish to see some 
of our company, to talk with them about this calamity, to 
giA^e them my tears, and receive theirs. So I turned my 
steps toward Bethany, where they would probably be found. 
I followed the footpaths over the hills ; and about the sixth 
hour I saw the little town below me, standing on its plat- 
form of rock, with the deep ravines beyond full of dark 
trees. 

I descended the path toward the town, and when about 
halfway down I beheld a woman coming toward me. She 
looked up, and I saw that it was Miriam of Migdol. When 
she recognized me, she called out joyfully, "It is Thomas." 
As she spoke, her face was radiant with joy, yet with marks 
of past anguish upon it. My first feeling was displeasure. 
It seemed to me that no one ought to smile or to be glad now. 
At such moments thoughts flash rapidly through the mind ; 
and I said to myself, "This is her love. Even such is the 
friendship of woman. The master hath not been dead three 
whole days, and she can alrcad}' smile, and wear a glad 



EYENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 425 

countenance." But, before I could express my thought, she 
said in a whisper, " My heart greatly rejoices in this meeting. 
I have many and wonderful things to tell thee. Hearken, 
Thomas, he hath come back. We have seen him." I stam- 
mered, "Come back? Who? What saj/st thou?" Again 
she said, with a tone so deep, so full of emotion, that I re- 
member its very accent and music now, " He — the master ! 
He hath come back. He lives." — "Then," said I, con- 
fused, "was he not indeed slain by the priests? Have our 
eyes been deceived ? " — "Yes," she replied, " he was indeed 
slain. We stood near him, and saw him die. Oh the horror 
of that hour!" And she pressed her face into her hands, 
as though to hide the sight of the dreadful tortures which 
she had watched during those long hours of anguish. 

Then I feared her mind had become disturbed with grief 
and suffering. I tried to soothe her, and said, "Sit upon 
this rock, and let us speak of other things. Say nothing 
concerning this now, Miriam, but wait until thou art more 
calm." But she took her hands from her face, and a joyful 
smile beamed therefrom. "Be not afraid, Thomas: there 
is nothing to fear. I am full of joy : my heart sings within 
me for gladness. Even so : he died, and was buried ; but he 
hath come back. Thou shalt see him also." I yet supposed 
her mind to wander, but thought it wise to speak soothing 
words to her, and suffer her to say what she would : there- 
fore I asked her to sit down with me, and to relate unto me 
what had happened since I left them. I asked if she staid 
with him to the end ; and, when she said she did, I thought 
within myself, "We ever call women weak, but they are 
stronger than we men in some things. I could not possibly 
have endured the sight of all that pain." 

" Yes," she answered : " there were four of us women who 
staid unto the end, — his mother, and his mother's sister, 
Miriam the wife of Cleophas, and myself ; and John was 
also with us. We were made to stand afar off at first, and 



426 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

the soldiers suffered us not to come near for more than an 
hour ; but after that they cared not to keep us away, no 
longer bemg afraid of any tumult among the people. So 
by degrees we came nearer to the place. And the heavens 
were all covered with black clouds, until it was as dark as it 
is toward evening. 

' ' How frightful was the scene ! We could not have borne 
it but for the sight of his heavenly face. "We have seen him, 
Thomas, when his face shone like the sun, when it was as full 
of tender love as that of a mother nursing her babe ; but now 
a still more divine look rested on the patient eyes, and on 
the lips which seemed to murmur words of submission. The 
whole face said, ' Thy will be done.' His soul was far away. 
He listened not to the brutality of the soldiers, the mockery 
of the Jewish rulers and scribes, nor to the angry roar of the 
outside crowd, lashed to madness by the priests. But it 
seemed to make them angrier that the}" could not hurt him 
any more. Some yelled aloud, ' Come down from the cross, 
if thou art the Son of God ! ' Others cried, ' Thou wilt 
destroy the temple, wilt thou? Thou wilt build it up again in 
three days? Save thyself now, if thou canst. Come down 
from the cross. King of the Jews, and we will believe on 
thee.' At last the Roman soldiers seemed to be displeased 
with this, and ordered them to be silent. There were four 
soldiers at each of the three crosses, to guard them, beside 
their centurion. They all sat on the ground, throwing dice 
to pass awa}" the time. 

' ' From time to time the two thieves who were on either 
side of hun uttered frightful screams, but lie was silent ; 
yet we could see how great was the agony he endm*ed. He 
was almost naked, his feet tied to the post by ropes, great 
iron spikes driven through his hands ; his body hung torn 
and bruised ; dreadful cramps ran over it. But most of the 
time his soul seemed to remain apart from the body. When 
these fearful convulsions came over him, we closed our eyes, 
and dared not look." 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 427 

" Spake he any thing? " I said. 

Miriam answered, "He did, — a few things only, during 
these long hours. The centurion sat alone outside of the 
group of soldiers ; and he spoke to me as I stood near him, 
asking if I was one of his friends. When I said, 'Yes,' 
he said, ' I never heard such words as he uttered while we 
were nailing his hands to the wood. Usually, at that time, 
the prisoners rage and blaspheme : to that we are used. But 
he prayed to God, asking him to forgive us, because we 
knew not what we did. The prayer went to my soul,' said 
the centurion. ' I wonder not that thou lovest him. I think 
him to be one of the sons of God, as he has said.' " 

"Dost thou remember, Miriam," said I, "that he has 
often told us to bless our enemies, and pray for those who ill 
treat us? We thought it difficult to do this. But we see 
now, that, when the time came, he himself did what he had 
commanded us. He never asked others to do what he would 
not do himself." 

Miriam went on : " The centurion also told me of another 
strange thing that happened before they suffered us to come 
near to the cross. One of the robbers who was crucified by 
his side joined in reviling Jesus, hoping, perhaps, that he 
might win favor with the mob ; but the other robber rebuked 
him for his language. He was a bold man, and must have 
had some good in him. Strange, that, when we all despaired, 
this man should have had this faith in our master ! for the 
centurion told me that he asked the master to remember him 
when he came into his kingdom. And Jesus said to him 
that he should be with him that very day in paradise." 

" That day? " I exclaimed. " Then he expected to be in 
paradise that day. But thou sayest that he has not gone to 
paradise, but is still alive. How is that? " 

Miriam replied, "Perhaps he went into paradise, and has 
come back again to speak to us. I will tell thee all these 
strange things soon. But now 1 will finish the account of 



428 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

what the other women and I saw, and which thou didst not 
see. 

"When the troop of soldiers had gone away, except the 
few guards, and when the rulers and priests had gone, satis- 
fied that their work was done, then we could come near to 
the place, as I have told thee. And, as soon as we came, 
Jesus looked at us, and his eyes were full of love and pity. 
Then they rested on his mother, who, wretched woman, was 
gazing at him with eyes full of horror. He looked at her ; 
and, speaking with difficulty (for his mouth was parched), 
he said, 'Thy son,' then looked at John, and said, 'Thy 
mother. ' We understood the meaning of these words ; and 
John, going to Mary, quietly took her hand in his, and looked 
up to Jesus. 

"After that a long time went by. It seemed as though 
these dreadful hours w5uld never end : six hours he had been 
in this anguish, and during three of those hours we had stood 
near to him. Sometimes it seemed that we could bear it no 
longer, yet we felt that it gave him some comfort to have 
his friends near. 

' ' But after these long dreadful hours had passed away, so 
slowly — oh, so slowly ! — he cried aloud, repeating the words 
of the psalm, — 

" 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ' 

"We saw a change come over him. God had not for- 
saken him : his sufferings were almost over. A deathly pale- 
ness passed over his face. He murmured, ' I thirst ; ' and 
one of the soldiers ran, and dipped a sponge in vinegar, and 
put it on a reed, and held it up to his mouth. Then he said, 
' It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my 
spirit.' His head fell forward, and he was dead. Then a 
great rest and calm came over us, knowing that his pain was 
over. 

"As soon as we saw that he was dead, we said to each 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 429 

other, ' How shall we obtain the body, to bury it ? ' We 
asked the centurion. He said that the bodies of malefactors 
were commonly left hanging on the cross, and it was not 
allowed to bury them, but that the Procurator Pilatus could 
give us permission if he chose to do so. We therefore went 
hastily into the city, and on our way met one of the Sanhe- 
drim, Joseph of Arimathsea, — a good man and a just. He 
Imowing us, and having also known Jesus, and loving him, 
stopped us, and asked if it was all finished ; for, after Jesus 
had been taken to Pilate, Joseph had not heard of his con- 
demnation. When we told him of it, he was greatly grieved, 
and declared how long he had opposed the deed in the 
council. We asked him how the body could be obtained for 
burial. He, knowing the Roman law and the governor, said 
that he would go to him at once, and ask this. He said, 
' Pilate will grant me this as a favor, I "believe ; but the 
Roman law also requires him to do it. That law respects 
and guards the rights of interment so much, that it requires 
even the bodies of malefactors to be given to their friends to 
be buried.' We went with him, and waited outside the 
tower until he returned, saying that the governor had con- 
sented, and had given him a written order. 

"Joseph said he knew that his friend Nicodemus (an- 
other of the council) would gladly join him in this work. 
And, having found him, they went together, with their ser- 
vants. The guard was still there : so they showed the gov- 
ernor's order to the centurion ; and, the soldiers helping 
them, they raised the cross from the earth, and laid it down ; 
then, taking out the spikes, and untying the ropes, they 
wrapped the poor body in a long white cloth. But there was 
a gash in the side, with blood around it. We asked the cen- 
turion what this meant ; and he said 'it was made by one of 
his soldiers with a spear, in order to be sure that Jesus was 
dead. 

" Now Joseph the ruler is a rich man, and he owns a 



430 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYIMUS. 

garden not far away, with a wall aroimcl it, full of fruit- 
trees. In the midst of it he has built a tomb for himself, 
which is only just finished. Therefore he said, ' We will 
put him in that tomb, because it is nearly evening and the 
beginning of the sabbath.' Nicodemus said, 'I will put 
the spices I have brought, with the bod3% and we will return 
after the sabbath to finish the work.' The servants of 
Joseph laid the body on an open bier, and carried it careful- 
ly to the garden, and through the garden to the door of the 
tomb. And there they laid it down, and we women who had 
followed to see the place came up and looked upon him. The 
eyes were a little open, and his mother knelt by his side, and 
gently closed them, and kissed his lips. Then the long linen 
cloth was rolled around the body, and the other piece of 
linen rolled round the head. And they took the body up, 
and carried it into the tomb. After this vre departed, a great 
stone having been first rolled before the opening of the tomb 
to keep it fast. 

"And now, Thomas, I have to tell thee the most wonderful 
part of the events." 

' ' We who had been most with him while he lived kept 
together during all of that dismal sabbath. As a sharp 
wound is sometimes less keenly felt at first, so the anguish 
of a sudden calamity is sometimes concealed, because so 
many thoughts and feelings are crowded into these hours, — 
there is so much of surprise, perplexity, events to tell and to 
ask about. We kept in the house, concealed that day ; for 
we feared lest the rage of the Jews might seek to destroy 
the friends of Jesus also. We had our personal adventures 
and feelings to communicate to each other : on such slight 
fragments of a great wreck are men floated over the first 
mighty breakers of a calamity. Thy master Pliilo hath said 
that 'man in the midst of calamit}" is a garrulous creature.' 
Thus we spent that long sabbath, trying to understand how 
it happened, how it might have been prevented. Mary, his 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 431 

mother, sat not like one in sorrow, but as transfigured by 
a great joy. She alone saw the sun through the clouds. 
When we went to her to console her, she said, ' Why offer 
me consolation? Is it because he is safe? because he has 
no more to suffer? because he has escaped into his glory? 
because his enemies have done their worst ? Do you pity me 
because he has gone up to God, into one of those mansions 
of which he told us? Do you not remember how he told 
Martha, here by my side, that his very nature is life and 
ascent, and that those who have his faith shall not die? 
Do you lament for me, that I am the mother of such a son? 
What, now, is all that horrible torture? It is over, and as 
if it had never been. My mouth is full of praise, my heart 
overflows with grateful joy. The only words I wish to say 
are, — 

" ' " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his 

holy name. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." ' 

' ' We wondered to hear his mother speak thus : and some 
whispered that she was beside herself with grief ; and that, 
as a thorn goes into the hand of a drunken man and he does 
not know it, so she, in the intoxication of her sorrow, did 
not now feel her pain, though she might feel it the more 
afterward. To me, however, she appeared to speak calmly, 
believing what she said ; and if faith in God is not merely 
something to talk about, but also to use, I think, Thomas, 
that it ought to bear us up in hours like these. 

"Peter alone said nothing, and sat on the ground, his 
head in his hands. Occasionally a sob would burst from his 
heavy heart. When we spoke to him, he said, ' Come not 
near me : I am unclean. I denied him : I protested that I 
knew him not. He said once (I well remember it), "He 
who denies me before men, him shall the Son. of man also 
deny before his Father and the holy angels." He will deny 



432 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

me ; he cannot forgive me ; he ought not to forgive me. I 
am a coward and a wretch.' And then he spake no more. 

"We sat together thus in the inner court of the house of 
the good Nathanael, when one rushed in hastily, crying out, 
' A strange thing has happened. Judas of Karioth is dead. 
He has killed himself. They say that when he saw that the 
master did not deliver himself by a mighty act of power, but 
suffered himself to be led away to judgment, like a sheep 
dumb before its shearers, a dreadful remorse seized on Judas, 
and he went back to the hall of the Sanhedrim in the temple, 
and cast down the money, saying that he had -betrayed inno- 
cent blood. Then he went awa}^, and hanged himself.' '* 

"And was this so? " I asked. 

" It was. And I think it shows that his heart was not so 
black as we thought. 

' ' Those who had not been present when Jesus died wished 
to l)e told all. And thus the sad day came to its end. Only 
one thing more was to be done : on the morrow we were to 
go to the tomb, and finish the sacred work of embalming his 
dear body with spices. 

"Therefore early on the morrow, on the first day of the 
week, before the break of day, we went to the city. But we 
knew not yet whether the council might not have ordered his 
twelve disciples to be seized and put to death also, or whether 
they despised us, now that our master was dead. Therefore, 
as Peter and John wished to go with us to keep us from any 
harm on the way, and that Peter might see the place where 
the master died, we set out before daybreak. We avoided 
the city, going round it on the south, through the Valley 
of Hinnom, and keeping close to the western wall. Tliere 
were three women, — Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary 
called also Salome, and myself. Peter and Jolm went part 
of the way, and then returned, while we went forward into 
the garden of Joseph. As we entered the garden, we be- 
thought ourselves of the great stone on the mouth of the 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 433 

tomb, and said, ' Perhaps we shall have to go back, and 
bring Peter and John to help us roll the stone away.' 

" When we reached the tomb, behold, the mouth was open ; 
and the stone had been rolled away, and was lying near by. 
In a moment it flashed into our mind that the body had been 
taken away. We said, ' Who hath done this, — his friends, 
or his enemies ? ' We thought for a moment, that Joseph 
had come earlier than we to the grave, and was now in the 
tomb, washing the body before it should be wrapped up with 
the spices. We looked down into the tomb. All was silent, 
and it seemed empty. Then I said to the other women, 
' Wait here, and I will run quickl}^ and overtake Peter and 
John, and bring them back.' So I ran quickly; and, after 
passing a little way beyond the city wall, I overtook them as 
they descended into the Valley of Hinnom. 1 said to them, 
' They have taken away my master out of the tomb, and we 
know not where they have laid him.' And, hearing this, 
Peter and John turned round, and hastened back, running 
so fast that I was left behind. I reached the garden again, 
and went up to the tomb. The women whom I had left 
behind were not there. It appears that they had seen a 
vision, which told them to go and tell the discip/lcs that 
Jesus had arisen. They had hastened back to Bethany, tak- 
ing the shorter way through the city, so that I had not met 
them on my return. Before I arrived, John, who outran 
Peter, had stooped down and looked into the tomb, and saw 
the white linen, and thought that the body was still there ; 
but, when Peter came, he went down into the tomb, and said 
to John, ' The body is gone. See, here is the linen head- 
cloth rolled up, and put away by itself. Why was it taken 
off the head, and then rolled up again? If they took the 
body, why did they leave the linen and the spices ? ' Then 
John went in also, and saw that the body was gone. And 
he told us afterward that there came over his mind in that 
moment the thought that our master had risen from the 



434 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

dead. Peter said, ' It does no good to stay here : we can do 
DO more now. Let us go home at once, lest any find us, and 
accuse us of having taken the bod3\' Then the}^ too, went 
away. But I said, ' I will follow soon ; ' for I could not bear 
to leave the place : so I remained outside the tomb. "When I 
thought of all the misery which had come on us, and that 
now we had not even the poor consolation of burying our 
master, I tliought my heart would break, and I burst into a 
passion of weeping. Weeping thus, I stooped down to look 
again into the tomb, to be sure that the body was really 
gone ; and I saw dimly two white figures, as I supposed, 
sitting a little way apart, and I thought they were angels. 
And a voice said tenderl3% ' AYhy weepest thou, woman ? ' 
I thought the voice came from the angels in the tomb, and 
answered, ' Because they have taken away my master, and I 
know not where they have laid him.' But instantly it seemed 
to me that the voice came from behind : so I turned round, 
and saw a man standing near, with no clothing except some- 
thing wrapped round the body, leaving the arms and legs 
bare, as a laborer when he goes to his work. And the man 
said to me again, in the same tender voice I had supposed to 
come from the tomb, the same words, ' Why weepest thou, 
woman ? "Whom seekest thou ? ' Thinking it was the man 
who worlved in the garden and took care of it, and that 
perhaps he had not known of his master's command to put 
the bod}' in the tomb, I suddenly thought, ' Perhaps he has 
removed it ; ' and I said, ' Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, 
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.' 
Then he said to me, ' Miriam ! ' and I knew in a moment 
who it was. It was 7ie, Thomas, — he himself. I could not be 
mistaken in that voice : there never was such a voice in the 
world. And he called me ' Miriam,' just as he has so often 
called me, but oh ! with so much pity and tenderness, that I 
shall never forget the sound of that word. It was he him- 
self, Thomas ; and he is alive ! ' ' 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 435 

She said this with such power of belief, that I was aston- 
ished. But I could not myself believe it, and I thought over 
her words, and said, — 

" What followed this, Miriam? " 

"I answered with a cry of joy, ' Rabboni, my master!' 
I was about to throw myself at his feet, and clasp his knees, 
thinking he had come back to life exactly as he had been 
before ; but he told me not to touch him, and said, ' Touch 
me not. I am not yet ascended unto ' my Father. But go 
thy way, and say unto my brethren, " I ascend to my Father 
and to your Father, to my God and to your God. ' ' ' 

' ' I did not quite understand these words ; but I knew he 
meant to tell me that he was not going up at once to God, 
but would be with us still a little time. And I felt that he 
wished me to know that the Father to whom he was ascend- 
ing was also our Father and Friend. And perhaps he also 
meant, that, though he had not yet risen from the dead into 
the higher life beyond, he was on his way up to his Father 
and ours, and had not merely come back again to his earthly 
life and human body : therefore I need not cling to his hands 
to hold him fast, for he would not leave us, even when he 
had ascended to his Father. And immediately I returned 
with all speed, and full of joy, to Bethany ; and, going into 
the house where we had concealed ourselves, I said to the 
others that I had seen the master, and that he had com- 
manded me to come and tell his brethren that he was rising 
into a higher world, where we should meet him and be with 
him again. And they answered that the other women also, 
before they left the tomb, had looked into it, and had seen 
some one, or perhaps two persons, in shining garments, who 
spoke to them, and said, ' Why seek ye the living among the 
dead? He is not here: he is risen. Go and tell his dis- 
ciples, and Peter, that he will be in Galilee before you 
arrive, and will meet with you and talk with you there.' 
And Peter, who had returned again more sad than before, 



436 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

because his master's body had been taken away, rose and 
said, ' Yes, now I am sure he is alive, and that Miriam hath 
seen him. I also know that the young man who spoke to 
the others was no angel, but my master himself. He spoke 
of me by name. He sent a message specially to me, know- 
ing my grief : he wished to comfort me. That was no angel, 
but one greater than an angel: it was his great forgiving 
and loving soul: 1 know him by that word, '' tell Peter." ' 
And from that hour Peter has been full of joy, knowing that 
his master has forgiven him." 

'' Then perhaps," said I, ''the voice which spoke to thee 
first, saying, ' Why weepest thou ? ' was no angel, but the 
same voice which said the same thing afterward. And what 
thou and the other women thought to be white angels in the 
tomb was perhaps the linen raiment left lying there." 

Miriam answered, ''I know not certainly how that is, for 
I was confused in my mind ; but this I do know, that he 
spoke to me, and called me by my name. I could not be 
mistaken in that look and that voice. But there is yet more 
to tell. We all saw him again last evening, and two others 
saw him yesterday in the afternoon ; so that he was seen 
three times yesterday." 

Then she told me of the two that went to Emmaus, and 
saw him on the way, and how he talked with them a great 
deal, and explained to them the scriptures ; and how, though 
they did not know him during this conversation, they knew 
him at last when he blessed the bread. Then they saw on 
his face that same look of trust they had often before seen, 
when he communed with God as with his father. In those 
tones of prayer they heard again the music of devout love. 
" So too," said Miriam, " when he looked at me, and called 
me by my name, I saw the same face, I heard the same 
voice, 1 knew so well. For thus it seems, Thomas, that, in 
the highest moments of life, this body and the heavenly 
body are one and the same." 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 437 

Saying this, she looked up with a rapt expression of peace 
in her eyes, received from communion with this heavenly 
spirit. I could not believe as she did ; but her faith that 
she had talked with one already entering into the upper 
world seemed to me very beautiful. Wishing to know all, I 
spoke again. 

" But thou saj^est he was seen again last evening. Tell 
me about this, Miriam." 

"Yes. We all saw him. We had collected in the inner 
court of the house. The owner had closed and bolted the 
outside gate, fearing some attempt might be made to seize 
us when our friends from Galilee were in their tents and 
asleep. We were talking earnestly of the strange events of 
the day. When I first told them what 1 have told thee, they 
believed me not ; but afterward, as we sat together, Peter 
came in, and, coming up to me, said, ' Miriam, I believe 
thou sawest him : I have seen him too. But do not ask 
what he said. I cannot tell it to any one. I think I shall 
not fall again.' While we were speaking of this, we lifted 
up our ej^es, and, lo ! he was in our midst. He loolvcd 
around on us all with the look of love we knew so well, but 
with something even more divine in it, and in low soft tones 
said, ' Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even 
so send I you.' Then he softly breathed on them, and said, 
' Receive ye the Holy Spirit.' He told them that this Spirit 
would give them the power of looking into human hearts, 
and speaking words of pardon and comfort, or words of 
warning and rebuke. We were not alarmed, nor did we 
wonder. We seemed in some heavenly dream, bathed in a 
sweet air of love. At first, indeed, we had been frightened, 
and supposed it was a spectre ; but he told us not to fear, 
for that it was he himself. He said to us that we might put 
our hands on him, and touch his hands and his feet, and we 
should perceive that they were firm substance, and not an 
apparition. We did so. We touched his hands with ours, 



438 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDY^IUS. 

and all our fears departed. AVe talked with him as we had 
talked while he yet lived. He was the same, and yet some- 
how different. We could not see how he came, or how he 
went : he seemed to disappear. He had a body, Thomas, 
and yet not altogether like the body he had before." 

But I was afraid to believe. I hardly wished to believe, 
lest I vshould be disappointed again. I could not bear an- 
other disappointment. My faith seemed crushed down to 
the earth : it was unable to rise. All its life was gone. 
I could not put faith in a vision : I must see and touch the 
very same body I had known ; I must touch the body torn 
b}^ the iron spikes, and rent b}' the Roman spear. If I could 
see him alive in that body, to be certain he was the same 
master I had known, then, perhaps, 1 might be able to believe 
in him as the Christ of God. 

Miriam said, " I have great faith, Thomas, that thou wilt 
believe even as we do. To us there is no longer any such 
thing as death. He has passed through it all, and is more 
alive than ever. AThen we appear to die, perhaps we, also, 
shall only go into that life where he is, — to be with him 
always." 

Thus we talked, and at last went downward to the village 
below. The house where the disciples dwelt belonged to one 
of our friends who was faithful and brave. He feared not 
to have us remain with him ; nor did many know that we 
were there. Lazarus, indeed, whom Jesus had restored to 
life, told us that he would protect us in his house ; but we 
knew, that, if the temple officers meant to take us, they would 
look there first, and might not suspect that we were with 
Nathanael. 

During all tliat week we remained together, and we told 
each other of what he had said at different times ; some 
remembering one thing, and some another. And every day 
we talked together thus, and had great comfort in our hearts, 
remembering and repeating his wonderful words. Thus the 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 439 

week wore away, and the sabbath. But on the first day of 
the week, as we sat together and spoke of these things, at 
once he appeared, standing in our midst. He looked around 
on us all, and said, "Peace be to you." My heart over- 
flowed with joy, for I saw the face I knew so well. Then 
he turned to me ; and a tender smile came over his lips, as 
he said, "Come hither, Thomas, and touch my hand, and 
put thy hand into my side, and be not faithless, but believ- 
ing." And I did so. And, as I touched him, a mighty flood 
of confidence came over me. All my black despair vanished 
away. The world was once more God's world, — its evils 
and horrors transient, fugitive, its good coming back with 
new power. My master was my master again. He was not 
mistaken ; he was not conquered : he was more royal than 
ever, more heavenly than ever. I had found my master : I 
had also found my God ; for I saw that the goodness and 
truth of my master had not been suffered to go down in 
ruin. I once again saw the God of justice and love protect- 
ing and guiding all things. Thus, in a moment, I had found 
my master ; and, in finding him, through him I had found 
his God and mine. All I could say was, — 
"My Master and my God." 

We had no more to do in Jerusalem. Obej^ing his com- 
mands, we returned the next morning to Galilee. There 
we remained, in and near Kaphar-nahum ; the eleven fre- 
quently meeting together. Whenever we thus met, we hoped 
that he would manifest himself to us, since he had promised 
to be in Galilee before we could arrive there. But a week 
passed by, and we had not seen him. We began to be a 
little discouraged again. 

One evening Peter said, " I go a-fishing." He could not 
wait any longer doing nothing, and thought, that, until we 
should see our master again, we might as well go back to our 
work. I said, " I will go with thee ; " for I also began to be 



440 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYilUS. 

perplexed. So said the good Xathanael of Kana ; so also 
said James and his brother John, and two others of the 
eleven. VTe went out on the lake to one of our well-known 
fishing-grounds, but no fish were to be found. There we lay 
all night, a little way out from the shore. At break of day 
we saw some one on the shore, but through the morning mist 
we could not tell who it was. He called to us. '• Have you 
any fish, my children?" TVe answered. '-Xo: we have 
caught nothing." Then he called to us to drop our net on 
the other side of the boat, and we shoulcl find some. AVe 
dropped the net down, as he told us : but. when we ti'ied to 
pull it up. it was so full of fishes, that we were afraid it would 
break. Then John, remembering what had happened once 
before, said softly to us, ''It is the master ' " And Peter, 
as soon as he heard that, was seized with a great desire to go 
to the master at once ; and. though we were about three hun- 
dred feet from the land,^ he wrapped his loose dress around 
him tight to his body, and leaped into the water, and swam to 
the shore. 'When I saw this. I knew that in that private in- 
terview with the master, of which Peter would say nothing, 
he had been forgiven his denials and falsehoods : else he 
could not have hastened so quickly to meet Jesus. He felt 
now that he was taken back into the love of his friend. And 
we rowed toward the land, dragging the net through the 
water behind us. ^Vhen we reached the shore, we saw a 
fire of coals, and fish and bread : but whom it came from we 
never knew. Some said it was created by a miracle ; but 
some of us thought it had been provided by a friend of the 
master, who lived near by. We always counted the fish 
taken in each haul ; and this time we found in the net a hun- 
dred and fifty-three, and those very large. So the master 
(for it was indeed he) told us to cook some of our fish on 
the fire, and we did so : and we all breakfasted together, 
Jesus handing to us the bread and the fish. 

1 Two hundred Jewish cubits. 



1 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 441 

After we had taken our breakfast in silence (for a certain 
sweet awe filled our hearts), Jesus turned to Peter, and 
asked him if he still thought that he loved him more than 
did the rest of us who were there. And in saying this he 
reminded him how he had declared, that, if all the rest of us 
denied and forsook the master, lie would not do so. Peter 
answered, "Yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee." 
And Jesus said, "Then, be the shepherd of my lambs." 
And he spoke to Peter a second time, and asked him again, 
" Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? " And Peter said, 
"Yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee." The master 
answered, "Be the shepherd of my sheep." Again he 
asked him, a third time, if he loved him ; perhaps because 
Simon had denied him three times, and the master wished to 
make him feel that the sin of each denial had been wholly 
washed away by his penitence, of which forgiveness his love 
to his master was the proof. When we love, we may believe 
that our sins are forgiven ; for unforgiven sin chills the heart. 
He himself had said, He who loves much has been forgiven 
much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 
Peter did not perceive this, but tliought the master doubted 
his love, and therefore was grieved, and said, "Yea, Lord, 
thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee." 
Jesus replied, "Give pasture to the sheep who are so dear 
to me." And thus he let Peter see that the master had not 
only taken him back into his affection, but would confide to 
him the care of his sheep and lambs once more. Then Jesus 
told Peter that his love would endure, and enable him to 
bear prisons and death for the sake of his master. He com- 
manded us to follow him on the path where he had gone, 
testifying to the truth, and confessing it even to death, and 
so following him through death to the world in which we 
should again be with him. 

After this, during the weeks which remained before Pente- 
cost, we saw the master again, from time to time. He spoke 



442 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

to US confidently of his coming to lead all mankind to God, 
and to make men of every nation and every race brethren in 
one family of love. 

There was nothing alarming in these appearances : they 
filled our souls with peace. He told us of the great work 
he had for us to do. We were to be his body, — the eyes 
by which he would see the needs of the world, the mouth by 
which he would speak his truth to the world, the hands by 
which he would heal the miseries of the world, the feet 
by which he would walk over the world as its Friend and Sav- 
iour. This was our great work. And he would be always 
with us to inspire us, to cheer us, and to make us strong. 
Whether we saw him or not, we might be sure he was near. 
Our first work was to testify before men that he had risen up 
to a higher life ; that God had made him the invisible Christ, 
the spiritual King, not of the Jews only, but of all men. 

Thus each day our faith in him grew stronger. An invisi- 
ble world, full of divine power and love, was forever near 
us. The outward world faded away, and grew unsubstantial : 
the inward world, where our master lived, was the most real 
of all. 

We also began to know better the natiu-e of his kmgdom. 
The stories he had told us about it, which we bad not com- 
prehended at the time, we now came to understand. Our 
minds enlarged under this influence. We spent most of our 
time repeating to each other the sayings of the master, which 
one or another recollected, and in trying to find what was 
the meaning of each. Thus what one knew the rest also 
knew. I was astonished to see what a growth thus came to 
us. We were at school together, studying and learning some- 
thing every day. 

Week after week passed away in this happy intercourse. 
Every two or three days oiu' master would appear among us ; 
and each time we saw him, and spake to him, and he spake 
to us, our faith was made stronger. A highwa}- stood open 



EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE CRUCIFIXION. 443 

before us from this life into a higher life beyond. We saw, 
as through open doors, into the heavenly world. We lost all 
fear of death : we gathered courage to meet the rulers of the 
nation, when the time should come, and tell them" that our 
master was indeed the Christ ; for the worst they could do 
to us would be to send us to him in that higher world which 
was not far awa}^ 

All our thoughts about the next life were transformed. 
We no longer believed that we were to go, after death, into 
a dark under-world, but hoped to pass up at once into an 
upper-world of light and love, to be with Jesus in some new 
home which he had made ready for us. 

Thus these interviews with our master, followed by our 
conversations, gave us faith and insight. Another influence 
was needed to give us power, and that would come soon. 

At last, as it drew near to the Day of Pentecost, the 
master told us to call together the disciples who believed in 
him, and he would manifest himself to them. So we came 
together on the side of a mountain near the lake, and waited 
in silence. It was near evening, and the setting sun filled 
the sky with rosy light : all at once we saw the figure of the 
master in our midst. He looked round slowly on the whole 
assembly, and a great awe and stillness came over them. 
Then he said, in tones so sweet and tender that they went to 
all our hearts, "Peace be to you all, from your Father and 
my Father, from your God and my God. All power is given 
to me in heaven and earth. Go, therefore, and teach all 
nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and the 
8on, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you. And, lo, 1 am with you 
always, even to the end of the age. Go, therefore, into all 
the world, and preach this good news to every creature." 
And, having said these words, he disappeared ; and of those 
who were there, the most said that they were now sure that 
he had risen, and gone up to a higher world, and that he was 



444 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. 

to be the King of all men, and was the Lord of life. But 
some doubted, and could not make up their minds to believe, 
thinking it too good to be true ; and for these I bad gi-eat 
pit}^, and did not blame them, knowing how long I mj^self 
had doubted. 

The master had told us to go to Jerusalem, and there re- 
main, and be at the Feast of Pentecost. And we went, 
fearing nothing. AYe agreed that all who were disciples of 
Jesus should meet on the Day of Pentecost in a certain part 
of the Court of the Gentiles, where was a large space with 
a roof above. 

We arrived at Bethany a day or two before the feast. 
There we had the last sight of the master on earth. AYe saw 
him, and talked with him face to face. He explained to us 
again what we were to teach and to do : he told us that soon 
a great inspiration from God would come to us to give us 
power for our work. We were to remain in Jerusalem, and 
make that our home for a time, teaching the people, in the 
temple and elsewhere. And such great faith in him had grown 
up in our hearts, that we who before had feared even to go 
to the feasts at Jerusalem, and only felt ourselves safe in 
Galilee, or among Galileans, now did not dread the priests or 
Pharisees. In a few weeks, when we were seized as our mas- 
ter had been, and brought before the same council which had 
sentenced him to die, and ordered not to preach in his name, 
Vie refused to be silent. 

After thus teaching us what to do, Jesus blessed us all, 
and bade us farewell, and disappeared forever from our out- 
ward eyes. Henceforth he was to be formed within us, and 
we were to have him hidden in our hearts. 



INDEX 



PASSAGES RELATING TO THE LIFE OF JESUS 
AND THE JEWISH RELIGION. 



EVENTS. 

The star seen in the east and the visit of the Persian magi, 2, 3. De- 
scription of Gennesaret, 4. Herod, ruler of Galilee, 9. Tyranny of the 
Romans, 9. Jewish synagogue, 11. School of the scribes, 35. The 
Talmud, its three parts, — Halaca, Agada, Kabbala, 45. Stories from 
the Talmud, 46. Tem^Dle at Jerusalem described, 51. Society of the 
Pharisees, 59. Practices of the Pharisees, Gl, Gamaliel, 64. Book of 
Job, 67. Jews of Alexandreia, 84. Philo, 85; his mode of teaching, 87. 
The Museum at Alexandreia, 83. The Therapeutai in Egypt, 97. The 
Essenes, 115. Appearance of Jesus in Galilee, 124; Peter and Andrew 
describe him, 125. Jesus comes from Nazareth, 125; is reverenced by 
John the Baptist, 127; is baptized by John, 129. John sends his dis- 
ciples to Jesus, 131; he rebukes Jesus, 132; the reply of Jesus, 132. 
Jesus no ascetic, 138; omits the washing of hands, 147; his journeys in 
Galilee, 194. Alarm of Herod, 204, Judas of Karioth, 206. Jesus goes 
to Panias, 207. The temptation, 209-220. The confession of Peter, 222. 
Peter, the rock, 222. The transfiguration, 227. The disciples contend 
for the highest places in the kingdom, 228. Jesus takes the little child 
in his arms, 229. The man who cast, out devils, but did not join the 
kehilah of Jesus, 230. The discontent of Judas, 234; he wishes Jesus 
to use force, 236. Herod puts John to death, 241. The Herodians, 242. 
The people wish to make Jesus king, 248; he allows his disciples to 
pluck corn on the sabbath, 249. Visit to Nazareth, 254. Anger of the 
Nazarenes, 255. Jesus goes to the feast of tents, 261. The woman of 
Samaria, 268. The woman taken in adultery, 270. Attempt to stono 
Jesus, 272. The Pharisees find fault that Jesus cured the blind man 
on the sabbath, 280. Visit of Nicodemus, 283; his conversation with 
Jesus, 284-286. The society of the Pharisees, its origin and character, 

445 



k 



446 INDEX. 

2M-297. Organization of the Jewish kehilah, 296. Resemblance and 
difference between Jesus and the Essenes, 297. The rich young man 
who turns away sorrowful, 298. The Pharisees who warned Jesus of his 
danger, 300. The brethren of Jesus, 303. A village of Samaria refuses 
to receive Jesus, 304. Sending out of the seventy, 305. Return of the 
seventy, 306. The family at Bethany, 313. Martha and Mary, 314. 
Jesus at the feast of dedication, 316. Raising of Lazarus, 319-323. Jesus 
rebukes the Pharisees, 323-325; and the scribes, 325-327. Ambition of 
James and John, 333. Zaccheus the publican, 335. The alabaster box, 
33f). The triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, 339-341. The money- 
changers driven from the court of the Gentiles, 341. The children sing 
hosanua, 342. The barren fig-tree, 343. Debates in the temple, 345. 
The Sanhedrim questions Christ's authority, 345; his answer, 345; ques- 
tioned by the Sadducees, 350; his reply, 350; by the scribe, 351; and his 
reply, 351. The two mites, 358. The daughter of the voice, 359. John 
sends his memoirs to Thomas, 365; he speaks of Christ as the word of 
God, 365; gives the conversation of Jesus at the two suppers, 367. Jesus 
washes the feet of the disciples, 368; predicts his betrayal, 369. Judas 
goes out, 370. How the passover was eaten, 375; the disciples sent to 
prepare it, 375. Judas betraj-s Jesus, 376. Jesus eats the passover 
with the disciples, 376. Institution of the Lord's Supper, 379. Jesus 
and his disciples go to the garden of the oil-press, 382. The agony in 
the garden, 382. Arrest of Jesus, 385. The disciples flee, 386. Peter's 
denial, 388. Jesus taken before the Sanhedrim, 386; carries his cross; 
389; speaks to the women, 389; is crucified, 390. Kaiaphas and his vic- 
tim, 403. Dream of Pilate's wife, 412; her message to her husband, 414. 
Pilate's account of the trial, 414; his desire to release Jesus, 415; his 
conversation with Jesus, 416; sends Jesus to Herod, 417; he is brought 
back, 418; Pilate finds no fault in him, 419; releases Barabbas, 419. 
Second conversation with Christ, 420; Christ excuses him, 420. Pilate's 
stratagem, 421; he is obliged to yield to the Jews, 421. After the cruci- 
fixion Thomas remains alone among the hills, 423; returns to Bethany 
on the third day, 424; meets Miriam, 424; she describes the scene at the 
crucifixion, 425-428. Joseph asks Pilate for the body, 429. Removal of 
the body, 429. The disciples together on the sabbath, 430. Misery of 
Peter, 431. Suicide of Judas, 432. The women at the grave, 433. The 
events which follow, 434, 435. Interviews with Jesus, 436,437. Thomas 
sees Jesus, and believes, 439. The appearance at the lake, 440, 441. 
Last interviews with Jesus, 442^44. 



TEACHINGS OF JESUS. 

,Je.sus teaches love to all men, even to the Romans, 125; forbids his 
disciples to call him good, 125; does not teach like the rabbis, 127; does 
not argue, 127; says that his disciples must eat him and drink him, 128; 



INDEX. 447 

explains and defends John, 133, 134; gives his reasons for going with sin- 
ners, 139; calls Matthew, 143; visits Simon the Pharisee, 144; forgives 
the sinful woman, 145; teaches that new wine requires new bottles, and 
why, 149. Sermon on the Mount, 151-158; source of its authority, 159. 
Jesus gives new power to old sayings, 161; makes the law spiritual 
and universal, 163; his teaching comes from knowledge, 164; describes 
the true feast of the heart and soul, 182; says that he is the bread of 
God, 183; that miracles do not prove truth, 184; and that his only sign 
is that of Jonah, 184; his miracles the result of faith, 187. Who are 
Christ's mother and his brethren, 190. Teaching the poor, 195. For- 
giveness of sin, 197. Influence on the people, 200. Comfort from his 
words, 201. Christ hot the Son of David, but his Lord, 206, 257. Describes 
the nature of his kingdom, 200. Account of his temptation, 209-220. 
What is signified by giving to Peter the keys, 222. Foretells his coming 
death, 223. How Peter becomes a satan, 224. Teaches humility by the 
little child, 229. All who do good works are his friends, 230. How to 
treat a brother who has done wrong, 232. Not peace, but a sword, 238, 
311. Why his disciples do not fast, 244. The law of divorce, 245. Con- 
cerning the sabbath, 249. Teaching at Nazareth, 254. Shows John the 
Baptist to be a true El-jah, 257. Teaches at the feast of tents, 262; that 
God is his Father, 263. Jesus the living water, 265. Teaches the 
woman of Samaria, 269; says that Abraham saw his day, 274. Conver- 
sation with Nicodemus, 284-286. Advises to invite the poor to banquets, 
302. Grieves for the cities which rejected him, 304. Tells James and 
John that they know not what spirit they are of, 304. His directions to 
the seventy, 305. The hour cometh, and now is, 309. Teaches at the 
feast of dedication, 316-319. The kingdom of God comes not with ob- 
servation, 330. How to become great in the kingdom of Christ, 333. 
Concerning the tribute to Kaisar, 348. Concerning Melchi-Zadek, 355. 
Jesus the true vine, 356. Christ lifted up, 360. Errors of scribes and 
Pharisees, 361. Christ invites all to come to him for rest, 361. Predicts 
the destruction of the temple, 362. Signs of his coming, 362; it would 
be inward, in the soul, 363. Dividing the evil from the good, 363. Ca- 
lamities to Judsea and Jerusalem, 363. The new commandment, 370. 
Comforts the disciples, 371; in seeing him, they see the Father, 371. 
Promise of the Comforter, 372 ; it shall teach them all things, 372. Teach- 
ings of Jesus at the last supper, 377. Warns Peter, 378. Prayer for the 
disciples, 380. Speaks of being glorified, 381; and why, 381. The Lord's 
arayer, 409, 410. 

PARABLES OF JESUS. 

Jesus teaches in parables, 128; the two debtors, 145; the evil spirit 
cast out which returns, 190; the prodigal son, 198, 399; the Pharisee and 
publican, 252, 395; the good Samaritan, 252; the feast from which many 
Bought to be excused, 282; the two sons, 346, 400; the wicked husband- 



448 INDEX. 

men, 547; the marriage-feast, 347: the foolish virgins, 363; the leaven, 
396: the sower and the seed, 396; the vine and branches, 396; the wheat 
and tares, 396; the lost sheep, 39t3: the grain of mustard-seed, 396: the 
pounds, 398: the talents, 398: beggars invited to the feast, 399; laborers 
in the vineyard, 399; the wicked husbandmen, 400; the rich man and 
Lazarus, 402. 

MIRACLES OF JESUS. 

Jesus cures the demoniacs, 124. The lame, blind, and lepers cured, 
132. The draught of fishes, 137. Peter's wife's mother cured, 135; and 
other sick persons, 136. ^Miracle at Kana, 139, The people forbidden to 
speak of the miracles, 178. The loaves and fishes, 179. Walks on the 
water, 180. Miracles no proof of truth, 184. Conditions of miracles, 
184; and their laws, 185. The demoniac boy, 185. Explanation of his 
miracles by the scribes, 186. Jesus wishes to share his power with his 
brethren, 187; does not do these works to astonish, but to help men, 
187. Money in the mouth of the fish, and its explanation, 188. Rebukes 
the storm, 191. Eaises the dead, 192. Paralytic man, 196. Heals the 
withered hand, 250. Cures the blind man at Jerusalem, 277. Baising 
of Lazarus, 319-323. Heals Malchus, 385. 



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